Of Friendship and Wizardry
by LunaLovegood95
Summary: Before Hermione Granger became best friends with Harry and Ron, she was a lonely, normal girl with no friends at her school. She didn't know she was a witch, or that there was a better world waiting for her. Based on the first Harry Potter book.R/Hr
1. A New Witch Is Born

_A/N: Summary: This story will be the Hermione Granger version of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." You get to see everything that she is thinking and get a different point of view of Hermione than you did seeing everything from Harry's eyes. This is the first of a Hermione Granger Series I will be writing to parallel all of the original Harry Potter books._

_Disclaimer: Following the standard disclaimers I've seen all over the place I'd like to point out the obvious: I don't own these characters as I'm not J. K. Rowling. If I was, I'd be rich and probably wouldn't be working 40 hours a week and spending my free time unwinding by writing fan fiction. In some cases, I did have to 'repeat' some of the dialogue in the original story. This was necessary to satisfy the scenes I was creating. I won't do it that often so please bear with it._

_Chapter Summary: This covers Hermione's summer before her first year including a little about her life at her former school, how she got accepted into Hogwarts, and her first trip to Diagon Alley. This chapter was actually added at the request of a reviewer._

"Ooo look, it's Goodie Goodie Granger!" a blonde-haired boy in braces taunted as a girl with bushy brown hair and brown eyes rushed passed him, books clasped to her chest.

Her real name was Hermione Granger, but all of the students in her class called her by this ridiculous nick name. It was bad enough that at age ten she was already a complete outcast at school, but now kids were going out of her way to torment her. Why? Well it had all started five days ago.

Every year, the students who would be leaving for secondary school at the end of term performed a huge practical joke on the last day of school. It was something like a school tradition except the staff never condoned it because it was usually something very dangerous or stupid. This year Hermione and her classmates would be the ones to keep this tradition alive as they were all leaving for secondary school.

Hermione had no intentions in participating in the practical joke though. She thought the whole idea was ridiculous and childish. She also knew no one would miss her because most of the students regarded her as a brainy, know-it-all who wouldn't know fun if walked up to her and kicked her in the shin.

She was half expecting the practical joke to have something to do with humiliating her but she found out this wasn't the case. Outside of school she overheard one of the girls in her class, Sara Millington, talking about what the boys had come up with for this year's practical joke. They were all planning on bringing paint filled balloons and even a few bb guns on the last day of school and causing a little chaos by tormenting the younger students and blasting out a few windows. From what Hermione had gathered one of their main targets would be a younger student, Melvin Cartwright, who was often picked on for being short and scrawny and having a funny lisp.

When she overheard these plans, she knew that she couldn't sit idly by and watch the boys in her class torment Melvin, so she told the assistant principle, Dr. Minigin about what the students had been planning. The last day of school, the staff made a point to search the suspected students and confiscate their concealed paint bombs and bb guns before letting them into the building.

It didn't take long for word to get out that it was Hermione Granger who had foiled their plans. They hadn't gotten in any real trouble. Since it was the last day of school, Dr. Minigin let them off with just a day sitting in the detention room. Still, they were mad that their tradition had been broken and Hermione was definitely feeling their wrath. She was just glad that they wouldn't have a chance to retaliate aside from hurling insults at her as she passed.

"Geez Hermione, were you just trying to see how unpopular you could be before you left," a girl had come up to walk beside her. It was Sara Millington.

"No," Hermione said shortly, "I was just trying to keep your stupid friends from going too far. They were going to torture Melvin. It wasn't right. I can't believe you even thought it was funny."

"Well at least I have friends," Sara said huffily.

Hermione shook her head as she hurried away from Sara. "As if having idiots for friends is something to be proud of," she thought to herself.

She walked into a nearby classroom. Her last class of the day and then she was free. Since it was the last day and they'd already finished all their tests, the teacher was just letting the students do whatever they wanted. Everyone sat around and talked cheerily about their summer plans. Hermione reached in her bag and pulled out a book.

"Hey Granger," a boy behind her called. Hermione felt a wad of paper hit her on the back of the head. She turned around to face Steve Porkinson. "I just figured out the perfect job for you; you could be a librarian. After all, they're all old ugly hags who have no friends and no lives."

Hermione rolled eyes. "Right then; well I guess you'll be cleaning out toilets for the rest of your life then. I mean after all you're scum, so you'll be used to being around other scum." She returned to her reading.

It was ironic how much she hated school considering the fact that she loved reading and studying and learning. She always earned top marks in all of her school subjects, which was one of the main reasons why her classmates hated her.

The other major reason was that she talked too much. She just couldn't help it. She always talked when she was nervous and though she'd never admit it to them, the other students intimidated her. She just wasn't much of a social person so she never knew how to act around other kids her age. They didn't like the same things she liked, and so she never knew what to talk about. Whenever she opened her mouth she ended up making a fool of herself or making them hate her even more.

Because of this, she had no friends. She spent most of her free time in the library a few blocks away from her house or in her room reading. It had been that way for as long as she could remember. Hermione desperately wanted at least one friend she could talk to, someone who could understand her, but she knew she wouldn't find it at this school. Her only hope was that in secondary school, things would be different. She was going to Landmarks Academy, a secondary school that focused on students who were geared for academic excellence. Of course, the school was very prestigious and she had to apply but that was the easy part. She had found out a few weeks ago that she'd been accepted. Perhaps at a school like Landmark she'd be able to fit in better, at least that's what she hoped.

There was a loud buzz in the background, signaling the end of class and the end of school. Everyone in the class cheered as they rushed out the door. Hermione waited for the stampede to stop before she left herself, saying a hurried "goodbye" to her teacher.

Hermione stepped outside and basked in the afternoon sunlight. She saw her mom waiting for her a ways away in front of their car. Her parents took turns picking her up from school. They were both dentists and practiced together in an office in the city nearby. Ironically, Hermione had rather large front teeth, but her parents didn't seem to think there was anything wrong that warranted dental surgery no matter how often she complained about it.

She was glad it was her mom picking her up today. She could tell her about everything that had happened at school.

She adjusted her bag and then rushed to meet her mother. But before she made it even halfway to the car, she heard a boy shout her name. "Hey Granger!"

Hermione turned and saw Steve glaring at her. He had a bb gun in his hands. Apparently it had been missed in the search that morning. He was pointing it at her. Hermione froze for a moment. She knew that the bb gun pellet wouldn't kill her, it was too small for that, but she was willing to bet that it would hurt a great deal. She took a few tentative steps backwards and looked wildly around for signs of a staff member.

"Put that down, you little hooligan!" her mother shouted. Hermione could hear her approaching from behind.

Pop! Steve shot the bb gun and Hermione saw the small speedy pellet racing towards her, as if in slow motion. She was about to dodge when suddenly, the projectile stopped, only inches away from her, and dropped to the ground. Hermione looked down in awe. What had stopped the pellet? She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was her mother, who also looked flabbergasted by what had just happened.

"Come on, let's go," she whispered before shouting up at Steve who also looked perplexed, "You'd better bet you're mother will be hearing from me, young man!"

Hermione climbed into the passenger seat of the car and threw her bag in the back.

"So you want to tell me what that was all about," Mrs. Granger asked as she started the car.

"I don't know; it just stopped. I didn't do anything," Hermione answered earnestly.

"I don't mean that," Mrs. Granger said. "I mean, why was Steve Porkinson firing a bb gun at you?"

"Oh that!" Hermione sighed. "Well…" and she began to explain the day's events to her.

"I see," Mrs. Granger smiled down at her daughter as they pulled into the driveway of their two story house. "Well Hermione, I'm proud of you. You did the right thing and I'm sure Melvin appreciates you sticking up for him."

"Yeah well he'd be the only one," Hermione muttered.

"I know it's rough, Hermione, but being popular isn't as important as being a good person. I'm sure you'll make some really good friends when you get to Landmark next year. You've just grown up a bit faster than other kids. Don't worry; they'll catch up to you and then they'll learn to appreciate your unique personality." Mrs. Granger grinned at these last words.

Hermione, however, still wasn't smiling. "Yeah; unique personality. Mom, what about the… well you know."

They both took a seat on the couch. Mrs. Granger stopped smiling. "I don't know. Hermione, you're a unique individual, that's all I can tell you."

"But Mum, it just dropped on the ground. Somehow I know I was the one who did that. It's just like last year when I fell off that hill and it was like I floated to the bottom and didn't get a scratch on me. What's happening to me mom?"

"I don't know," Mrs. Granger said again. "I really don't know, Hun. But don't worry about it. Everything in this world has a logical explanation. We'll figure it out soon enough, I promise. Until then, don't worry about it okay?"

Hermione nodded but in her mind she was still replaying the scene in her head.

Summer went by very slowly and Hermione was glad for it. She spent most of her time either relaxing around the house or walking down to the library. Fortunately none of her classmates lived close by so she never ran into them. All in all she was glad to have a break from worrying about school, though in the back of her mind, she was already beginning to worry about what would happen when she started going to Landmark. Would the students treat her the same? Would she be happier there? Would she finally be able to make a friend, someone who would just accept her for who she was? These and other questions constantly bombarded her mind.

Her father was of course utterly pleased that she would be going off to Landmark. "My little gifted Granger," he'd say to her whenever the opportunity arose. Hermione was glad he was happy but he didn't understand what kind of pressure she had at school, after all when he was at school he had a ton of friends who were almost all like him. Often times some of his old schoolmates would come over and Hermione would listen to them as they sat around the sitting room reliving old memories or talking about politics and world economics.

However when Hermione would complain about how miserable she was at school because most of the students hated her for being so smart he'd just say "You're not there to win a popularity contest dear, school is for education. They'll be plenty of time to make friends later," or something along those lines. Hermione hated to admit it but in a way she agreed with him. What did it matter if she was popular if she comprised herself to do so? Still, she didn't necessarily want popularity, just a few good friends but that was impossible with the students at her now former school. They just didn't understand her, and never really even tried.

"Well who care's about them," she thought to herself one morning as she headed down the stairs to eat breakfast. "I'll never have to seem them again. So why am I worrying?"

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Hermione saw a pile of mail sitting just beneath the mail flap of their front door. She grabbed it on her way to the kitchen. It was almost 10 AM and her parents of course had left several hours earlier. She only got to see them in the evenings after work so during the day she had to fend for herself. Of course, they never worried about her and she hadn't had a babysitter since she turned eight.

She sorted absentmindedly through the mail and then threw it on the table before opening the refrigerator and pulling out a jug of orange juice and some cheese. She laid these items next to the sink and was about open the juice when she noticed a large envelope lying on the counter right beside her. She turned to the table where she had put the mail earlier. The stack was still there. Where had this stray letter come from? She picked it up to examine it. The envelope was a thick, coarse parchment. She read the emerald green ink and realized that it was addressed to her.

"How odd," she muttered to herself as she carried the envelope over to the kitchen table, completely forgetting her breakfast. She didn't recognize the handwriting at all, and then she realized the envelope wasn't stamped. How had it even gotten there without proper postage? She thought perhaps her parents had left it for her, but then it wasn't either of their writing and besides, they wouldn't have bothered with putting the full address on the envelope. Brimming with curiosity, she opened the envelope and pulled out the first letter.

"Dear Ms. Granger,

We are pleased to inform you that your magical prowess is sufficient to allow acceptance into one of the many schools of witchcraft and wizardry. You are on your way to becoming a fully qualified witch. As you are a muggle-born, we expect that this will all be very new and exciting to you. No doubt you have already begun to notice your magical powers becoming more potent over the years.

Please find enclosed an invitation to the Annual New Witches and Wizards Summer Seminar along with brochures to several prominent schools. Please make plans to attend the session before deciding on a school as many questions will be answered there. We hope you look forward to starting your education in the magical arts.

Sincerely,

Ernestina Godwright

Department of Magical Assessment; Ministry of Magic"

Hermione was flabbergasted. She turned the letter over to see if it was kind of joke. She looked out the window to see if someone had somehow slipped it inside without her looking. But who would do something like that? Perhaps one of her former schoolmates decided this would be a fun prank to get her back for how she ruined the end of term practical joke. She reached inside the envelope and pulled out several small brochures and another letter. Hermione let out an audible gasp as her eyes fell on the first of the colorful brochures. The pictures were animated. All the people in them were moving, walking around, or waiving up at her.

Her eyes flicked to the top of the brochure where gold letters spelled "Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry: One Thousand Years of Wizarding Excellence." The pictures showed children her age in long black robes doing all manner of things from stirring odd looking liquids in large caldrons to flying through the air on broomsticks.

Hermione almost fell into one of the chairs at the kitchen table as she flipped through the brochure in her hand. This couldn't be a practical joke. It was too real. Hermione's thoughts floated back to the last day of school, when the bb gun pellet suddenly stopped right in front of her and dropped to the ground just like… magic.

"Hermione what are you talking about?" Mr. Granger asked as he and his wife tried to settle in for the evening after returning home from work. Hermione had launched into an explanation about the letter and brochures the moment they hit the door.

Hermione shoved the letter in his face. "Here read; see for yourself."

Mr. Granger took the letter from her and adjusted his eyes to the small emerald green writing. "Oh Hermione," he said after skimming it. "I'm in no mood for jokes. I've had a long day." He absentmindedly handed the letter to his wife.

"Dad! Hello!" Hermione said heatedly, stepping in his path. "This is your daughter you're talking to? I wouldn't make something like this up."

Mrs. Granger put her hand over her mouth in shock. She had just finished reading the letter. "Did you read this?"

"It's some sort of gag; they're trying to sell something," Mr. Granger said dismissively.

"No it's not; look," Hermione shoved the Hogwarts' brochure in his face.

His eyes widened. "What in the…" he took the pamphlet timidly.

"See!" Hermione said. She handed another to her mother who was still trying to recover from the letter. They both seemed to automatically steer themselves to the couch as they examined the animated brochures.

"I… I don't understand." Mr. Granger said finally. "How can this be?"

Hermione took a seat between her parents. "Magic," she answered simply. "It's magic and I'm a witch."

"That's not possible. There's no such thing," Mr. Granger admonished.

"Don't deny with your mouth what you see with your eyes," Mrs. Granger told him. "If this isn't proof then think about all of the things that have happened to Hermione over the years. What about the time she fell in the lake when she was three. She should have drowned after being down there for 20 whole minutes but she climbed out and just grinned at us like it was all a game. Don't forget the time when she was hit by that car on Jefferson Avenue; not a scratch on her. Our child had more fatal accidents then we could count when she was young."

Mr. Granger gulped. "Okay, you're right. We can't deny it and Hermione's smart as a whip I'll give you that. Maybe it isn't just genes. But still, sending her off to," he pointed at the brochure, "some no name school to study magic. It still sounds a bit far fetched. What gain can there be to that? She's got to get a real education."

"What if this is better than Landmark?" Hermione said with a plea in her voice. "I mean if I do have powers, I should learn what they are and how to use them, shouldn't I? Besides, maybe this is why I didn't fit in at my old school. Maybe this is the reason why I've always felt so out of place. Maybe if I go to a school like Hogwarts I'll be happier."

Mr. Granger shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know…"

Mrs. Granger reached over her daughter to put a hand on her husbands arm. "Dear, we should at least go learn more about it."

He nodded. "I suppose. It's good to consider all options."

Mrs. Granger grinned. "Now that's the rational man I married." She looked down at her daughter. "Now how do we get to this 'Annual New Witches and Wizards Summer Seminar?"

The invitation to the Annual New Witches and Wizards Summer Seminar did not have directions to the event's location. It did however have a date and time: July 14 starting at 11 AM. Three tickets were enclosed along with instructions telling them to make sure they each had their ticket by 10:50 AM and that they would be picked up at 10:55 to be taken to the session.

"It must be nearby if they only need 5 minutes to take us there," Mr. Granger said as they all prepared to leave that morning.

Hermione examined her small read ticket. "Something tells me that these tickets are more than they seem. Just make sure you guys have them on you, or I think you might be left behind."

Mrs. Granger nodded, "I had that same feeling myself?"

They all sat down on the sitting room couch half expecting the doorbell to ring and half expecting a magic carpet to appear at their window. Neither happened. At exactly 10:55 AM they were suddenly and unexpectedly whisked away.

"That was amazing!" Hermione said as she picked herself off the ground. Her parents had also been knocked to the floor. She quickly assessed her surroundings and realized they were in the lobby of a large elegant hotel. They had landed right at the front desk. A tall man in a red robe was behind the counter.

He smiled at them. "Welcome to the Celestina Hotel."

Mr. Granger had recovered from his undignified landing. "Where are we?"

"The Celestina Hotel in downtown London," the man repeated himself.

"Celestina Hotel? I've never heard of it," Mr. Granger mused.

He smiled again. "No, I don't suppose you have. I take it you're here for the Ministry's annual new witch and wizard seminar?"

Hermione showed him the invitation excitedly. "Yes we are."

"Well Ms. Granger, we're glad to have you here. It's always nice to see the birth of a new witch or wizard, especially one from muggle decent."

"There's that word again," Hermione said in frustration. "What does it mean?"

He grinned. "You'll find out soon enough. This conference is just for new wizards and witches like you who don't know anything about our world. By the time 6 o'clock comes you'll have a whole new understanding of things." He pointed behind her. "The conference is right behind those doors."

Hermione whirled around and saw a set of purple double doors. Her excitement was mounting. She tried to keep herself from racing to the door.

Mrs. Granger was smoothing down her dress. "Are you ready, dear?" she asked her daughter.

Hermione nodded fervently.

Mr. Granger started for the door. "Let's go then."

The conference turned out to be very well organized and focused on all the questions they could possibly have. It was perfect for someone like Mr. Granger who was prone to interrupting with thoughts, opinions, or questions of his own. They welcomed all comments and usually answered his questions before he had a chance to ask them. Hermione counted approximately 30 families in the conference. All of the kids were about her age, ten or eleven, and were from muggle families which she learned referred to non-magical people. Apparently it wasn't completely unusual for a child to be born with magic even if it wasn't anywhere in their bloodline. She was glad that everyone else in the conference was in the same boat.

The first session was called "How Do I know My Child is a Witch or Wizard?" This happened to be the first question on both Mr. and Mrs. Granger's agenda. Though they admitted their daughter was unique, they wanted more discernable proof that she was magical.

"My name is Ollivander," said the aged man who stepped in front of the podium. "I am a maker of wands in Diagon Alley and I hope to see some of you in my shop when it comes time to buy school supplies." He cleared his throat as he held out a long thick black rod. Hermione wondered if this was a wand.

"This is a realizer," Mr. Ollivander explained. "It is a special device used to bring out the true nature of a witch or wizard's power for a brief period of time, usually a minute. It only really works for undeveloped witches and wizards who only have raw power. For those of you who need a little more proof that your children have magical blood, this should be all you need. You there," he pointed to one of the parents in the audience. "Come up here and take a hold of the realizer."

The man shot out of his seat obediently and walked up to the stage. He took the realizer from Ollivander. "I don't feel anything," he said.

"Exactly," said Ollivander snatching the realizer from him. "And so you shouldn't. Is that your daughter down there? Come up here young lady and take the realizer."

A young red-headed girl clamored up to the stage. She timidly reached out her hand and took the realizer. It immediately began to glow bright green and before she knew what was happening a blast of wind knocked everyone in the room out of their seats. Her father and Ollivander were also pushed to the ground.

"Whoa!," Hermione whispered as she crawled back into her seat.

"I trust that you can see the true potential of your daughter now, sir." Ollivander said to the red-head's father as he dusted himself off. "Would anyone else like to try?"

There was an immediate rush for the stage as every potential witch and wizard pushed their way to be first to touch the realizer. As Hermione waited patiently in line she wondered what would happen when she touched it. The realizer seemed to do something different with each child. One boy started floating, another young girl caused the room to fill with orchestra music, and one even turned everyone in the room a vivid shade of blue. Ollivander had to pull out his own wand to reverse this strange affect.

Finally it was Hermione's turn. She stepped timidly up on the stage and took the long rod that Ollivander offered her. She felt a tingly feeling all over her body but when she looked around nothing seemed to have happened. Hermione began to panic. What did this mean; was she not really a witch? She didn't have any powers? She had come this far into the magic world, so close to meeting people who were just like her... And now it was all over before it could even begin?

"I don't understand…" she started sheepishly. She saw her mom clap her hand over her mouth in shock. "What? What is it Mum? What's wrong?"

Mrs. Granger stood and stepped up to the stage. "Hermione, can't you hear yourself? You're speaking fluent Spanish."

"I am?" Hermione listened to her own voice and finally realized the words she thought she was saying weren't the words that were coming out. She turned to her father. "Isn't this the most amazing thing," but now he was looking at her like she was an alien.

"You're… speaking Japanese now, dear." Her father said breathlessly.

Hermione let the realizer fall to the floor. "Well," she said in English finally, "I guess I really am a witch."

Both of her parents nodded numbly in agreement.

The next session answered another one of Mr. Granger's main questions. It was titled "What are the Benefits of Wizard Schooling?" Two people, a fully qualified witch and wizard from the Ministry of Magic headed this. They learned all about the various courses they could take in wizard's school from Astronomy to Defense Against the Dark Arts. There were literally thousands of jobs that a fully trained witch or wizard could have, even in the muggle world. Hermione was especially interested in becoming a doctor of magical ailments, a researcher of new charms and magical devices, a magic detective or even just a professor. So many of the magical job fields interested her and she could tell they intrigued her father as well.

The third session was "An Introduction to the Wizarding World." It focused primarily on wizarding terms they needed to know like "muggle", the different types of wizarding money, and quidditch, a type of wizard's sport. They talked about different types of magic such as charms, jinxes, potions, and divination. They learned about wizard communication, the primary one being "owl post," a method of mail that used highly intelligent owls to send letters back and forth. Hermione learned that this was how she got her letter, though she didn't remember seeing an owl.

Then they received a map of Britain that marked all of the magical places and how to access them. Hermione noticed that the Celestina Hotel was one of the spots indicated on the map which explained why they'd never heard of it. The wizard who was conducting this section was careful to give them detailed instructions of how to reach a spot known as Diagon Alley which was basically like a large wizard's shopping mall and the best place to go in Britain to prepare for the upcoming school year.

"So are there any additional questions?" the wizard asked the group as this final session came to a close.

Hermione's hand shot up. "Excuse me, but what about the different wizarding schools. No one has really talked about them. There are a lot to choose from."

"Yes there are many, my dear," the wizard agreed. "However, we like to let our young witches and wizards and their families decide on the best school for them. The Ministry of Magic does not want to endorse one school over another. However, there is still an hour before our seminar is done. During the dinner that follows this session, feel free to talk to any of the older witches and wizards here and get their personal opinion. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to give it to you. There are scrolls for most of the major schools in Europe in the lobby. To apply, simply write your name on the appropriate scroll and the school will send you a response as soon as possible. Please fill free to sign up for multiple schools. Children in wizarding families are automatically applied to most of their nearby schools but because you're from muggle families you have the opportunity to pick and choose so take advantage of it."

The conference dinner was phenomenal. Hermione had never seen so much food in her entire life, and it seemed to just appear from nowhere as they sat down at the tables in the dinning hall. After she had had her fill of the delicious food, Hermione made her way around to other tables where she talked to some of the ministry wizards. Most of them talked favorably of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This was the school she was the most interested in. It seemed to have a very rich history and she was intrigued by the house structure. All of the students were divided into four school houses, named after the four founders of the school. Also she learned that the school was headed by Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards of the modern era and well respected by everyone it seemed. This definitely sounded like the school for her.

She checked the time, only 10 minutes left before the conference was over. She made her way to the lobby where several scrolls were lined out on a table. She found the one for Hogwarts and signed her name on it. She looked around at the other scrolls, debating whether or not to sign up for others even if she wasn't particularly interested.

Another girl came up beside her. Hermione recognized her as the same red-headed girl who was first to try to realizer. "Hi, what schools are you signing up for?"

"Oh, uh… just Hogwarts now. I was thinking about whether or not I wanted to sign up for any others but I'm really not interested in any others. You know, Hogwarts just seems like the best school and I want to go to the best. I mean if I'm going to be a witch then I should at least learn as much as I can. Of course the idea of living away from home to go to school is a bit disconcerting but if I want to go I have to make that sacrifice."

Hermione realized all too late that she was rambling. Whenever she got around people she didn't know, she became nervous and whenever she became nervous, she started rambling, usually about random uninteresting facts or topics that made her sound like more of a know-it-all than she already was. It was trademark of her personality and it usually turned people off.

This girl didn't seem to be at all bothered by it though. "Wow, I think it's really amazing that you have that much confidence to only sign up for one school. I don't think I could be nearly as brave as you but you seem really smart anyway. I bet you'll definitely get into Hogwarts. I'm going to apply too I think, but I'm going to sign up for some other schools as well. It's mostly because I don't want to get rejected from one and not have a fallback but also because I'm not sure where I want to go. I mean you're right, Hogwarts sounds like a great school but I was thinking about one closer to where I lived and a little smaller. I definitely think a smaller school would be better for me, but I'm not sure, you know. I've always been in a small school and I think I'm just used to it. My name's Anne Pennygale by the way. Sorry if I'm talking your ear off. I just get nervous when I meet new people and then I start rambling."

Hermione beamed. "Oh it's okay, I know exactly how you feel. My name's Hermione Granger."

"Hi," Anne said again. "Maybe we'll end up in the same school together. That would be so neat."

Hermione let out a giggle as Anne started signing her name to various scrolls. No one had ever told her it would be "neat" to be in the same school with her. "Yeah, that would be great. I don't have that many friends where I'm from." "More like no friends," she thought to herself.

"Oh I can't believe that, you seem so smart and interesting. When you were up there speaking all those different languages when you had the realizer, the wizard next to me said that was a sign of very high potential and aptitude or something like that. You're probably going to be a really powerful witch when you grow up. Hey I have an idea," she said as she straightened up after signing the last of her chosen scrolls. "Why don't we exchange addresses? That way we can write to each other just in case I don't get into Hogwarts with you."

Hermione nodded readily. "That would be great!" she shoved her hands in her pocket. "I don't have any paper." She looked at the scrolls, "I don't suppose it'd be a good idea to tear a spare bit off these."

"No probably not," Anne agreed, "Hold on; I'll go grab a bit from my folks." She ran off towards the dining hall.

Hermione's parents came up behind her. "It's almost time to go dear. Who was that spirited young girl," Mrs. Granger asked.

"That's Anne; she's my new friend… I think."

"Well that's great! Making friends already?" Mrs. Granger said.

"I was a little leery of this whole thing," Mr. Granger admitted. "But now I can see the benefits of a wizarding education. These wizard chaps are very logical and organized. You'd do well to learn from them Hermione. You've got a rare gift and I want to make sure you use it to your full potential. Landmark is a good school, but you're going to need a special type of education."

Hermione smiled to herself. She knew it would be easy to convince her father to let her go to Hogwarts. All she needed to tell him was that it was run by one of the most prestigious wizards in the world and he would be onboard. It wouldn't matter even if the school was in Australia.

"So are you ready to go dear?" Mrs. Granger asked. "We were going to ask one of the wizards how we get back home."

"Well I want to wait for Anne to come back. We were going to exchange addresses. Do you have a bit of paper with you?"

Mrs. Granger reached in her purse but at that moment the clock on the wall chimed. It was 6 PM. Before they knew what happened, they were being whisked away again. A few seconds later they were back on their couch in their sitting room.

Mr. Granger shook his head. "I'm never going to get used to that."

Hermione frowned as she pulled the ticket out of her pocket. It must have been the cause of their instant transport. She really wanted to exchange addresses with Anne. She was the first person that she'd ever met that she really got along with. She hoped she and Anne would be in the same school. She wondered if it really was a good idea to only apply to Hogwarts. Only time would tell.

"Hermione, I believe this letter is for you," Mrs. Granger called from the kitchen when she heard her daughter descending the stairs.

"Letter?" Hermione repeated. "But it's Sunday, there's no post."

Hermione walked into the kitchen and saw a large barn owl sitting on the kitchen counter, near the window. Apparently owl post did run on Sunday. Mrs. Granger was giving the owl furtive looks as if she didn't know whether or not it was appropriate to take a letter from an owl that wasn't addressed to her. So Hermione rushed forward and took the envelope from the owl's beak. It hooted happily, obviously glad to be relieved of its burden.

"Can I get you something before you leave?" Hermione asked the owl cordially. The owl hooted excitedly.

"Here," Mrs. Granger handed her daughter a piece of toast.

Hermione tore a bit off and gave it to the owl who accepted it with an appreciative hoot before taking off out the window.

"Friendly mail carriers those owls," Mrs. Granger commented casually as Hermione sat down at the kitchen table. "Wish our postman was nearly as nice."

"Uh huh." Hermione was busy examining the envelope. Her heart leapt with hope. Perhaps the letter could be from Anne? But then she thought it would be quite impossible that she would know where she lived, unless of course wizards had some way of tracking down people's home address. Turning it over and seeing the seal attached to the back, she knew instinctively where it was from, Hogwarts. It had been a little more than two weeks since the New Witches and Wizards Summer Session. This must have been the answer she was waiting for.

She opened the envelope tentatively and removed one of the pieces of parchment from inside.

Mrs. Granger finally noticed what she was reading and came up behind her daughter, curious for the verdict. "Well…" she asked finally.

Hermione's face was white with shock. "Here, see for yourself," she handed the letter up to her mom.

Mrs. Granger started reading allowed, "Dear Ms. Granger, we are pleased to inform you that you've been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…." her voice trailed off. "You got in!" she said excitedly.

Hermione jumped out of her chair in excitement. "That's right!"

"What's all the hubbub?" Mr. Granger entered the room now in a green house robe.

"Hermione made it into Hogwarts!" Mrs. Granger answered excitedly

"As if we had any doubt." Mr. Granger said hugging his daughter proudly. "She's a Granger and Grangers can do anything!"

"So you're not mad then that it's so far away," Hermione asked timidly.

"Not at all," her father said jovially. "If it's the best school for your wizarding education then that's where you'll be going. No questions asked. In fact," he said with a rare twinkle in his eyes. "I've already called Landmark and told them you won't be attending next year."

"Really? Thanks dad!" Hermione said hugging him again.

"You can thank me by doing your best. I want to hear that you're studying hard and becoming the best witch you can be. This will be the first time you've been away from home to go to school. I trust you'll be the mature young lady we raised you to be and that you'll stay focused."

"I will, dad," Hermione promised sincerely.

Mrs. Granger was reading the second sheet of parchment in the envelope now. "Oh… we're going to have a time finding these school supplies."

The Grangers decided to go into London the next weekend to get Hermione's school supplies. They took the train instead of driving, since they didn't know exactly where they would be going. Hermione made sure to bring along the wizard's map of London which turned out to be very helpful as it kept pointing out the correct directions to go. It told them to take the underground to the Tottenham Court Rd. station. Then from here it was a short walk down Charing Cross Road to reach the entrance to Diagon Alley which the map called the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione walked down the street, her parents in tow, studying the map closely. She stopped suddenly and looked up.

"Ah, we're here." She pointed to a shabby looking building.

Mrs. Granger gave her daughter a puzzled look. "Hermione, there's nothing here but a boarded up old building."

"You don't see the sign?" Hermione asked them. "It says 'Leaky Caldron.'" Both adults shook their heads.

"Hmm," Hermione looked down at the map again. Another caption had appeared above the dot that symbolized the Leaky Caldron.

It read: "Those with muggle guests should note that the Leaky Caldron is not completely muggle-proof to allow limited access for muggle friends and family of wizards to gain access to Diagon Alley. Muggles need only to be touching a witch, wizard, or other creature of magic to be able to see the entrance."

Hermione folded the map again and shoved it in her bag. "Here, take my hands, both of you."

Her parents complied. Mrs. Granger gasped. Mr. Granger gave a snorting noise. "I think I liked the boarded up building better. Hermione are you sure this is the place? It's just a pub."

"I'm positive." she confirmed as she dragged them into the Leaky Caldron.

This is bound to be a very interesting shopping trip, Hermione thought excitedly.

And an interesting shopping trip it was.

Her first impression of the Leaky Cauldron was that it was very dark and kind of small for a pub, but at the same time it was nice and homey. Groups of Witches and Wizards obviously hung out often, for today the pub was crowded with them.

The bald man behind the bar smiled at them when they came in. "Ah, you'd be looking for the entrance, right?"

"Uh, yes," Hermione said timidly. Despite his rugged look, the bartender seemed friendly as he came from behind the counter to shake their hands.

"M'name's Tom. I run this place," he said proudly as if it were as elegant as the Celestina Hotel. Hermione noticed that he was also toothless. "You must be headed into your first year of wizarding school," he said to Hermione.

"Yes I am." Hermione nodded.

"You'll need a wand to get back there. I don't suppose you have yours already?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Well no matter. Follow me." He led them out the back to a small courtyard with a single trashcan. "Now watch this my young witch so you'll know next time." He started counting bricks from the trashcan. "Three up; two to the right." He tapped the wall with a long wooden rod that Hermione assumed was a wand. Then to their amazement the wall began to open up until there was a large archway in front of them. "Welcome to Diagon Alley," Tom said proudly as he ushered them through the archway onto a cobbled street.

"Amazing," Mr. Granger gasped.

"Have you got a map, little witch?" Tom asked.

"Yes I do." Hermione answered automatically as she looked around at all the shops.

"Well then, good luck," Tom said as he took a step backwards and the archway began to close up.

"Wait!" Hermione whirled around. "How do we get back?"

"Three up, two to the right," Tom called and as the wall completely closed Hermione noticed another unassuming trash can sitting in front of it.

She turned to her parents again. "Well, what do you think?"

They were looking around at all of the people in colorful robes walking around buying caldrons, carrying owls, and haggling over strange items.

"Well the pub entrance leaves a little to be desired," Mr. Granger said thoughtfully, "but I must admit that they've done well keeping this place a secret. I hope one of these days you'll be able to master that kind of magic."

"Me too," Hermione said excitedly.

They walked up to the first shop which had a large stack of caldrons in front of it. "Hermione, didn't your school supply list say you'd need a caldron?" her mother asked.

Hermione nodded.

"Excuse me, sir." Mr. Granger asked the shop attended, a freckled faced teenage boy. "How much for one of these?"

"Four galleons, 10 sickles; a bargain," he said.

Mr. Granger pulled out his wallet. "What's that in pounds?"

The young attendant stared at the paper money Mr. Granger pulled out. "Uh…" he thought for a bit. "Oh I see. You're muggles aren't ya?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You'll need to go to the bank. They exchange muggle money."

"Oh I see," Mr. Granger put the wad of bills away. "Where is the bank?"

"Gringotts is just down the street; can't miss it."

They thanked the attended and started down the street. "I feel so out of place here," Hermione said with a sigh. "It's like everyone knows we're muggles. It couldn't be worse if we had a sign on her back." Hermione checked her back to make sure this wasn't the case. Anything could be possible in the wizarding world.

"Don't worry Hermione," her mother said soothingly. "You're just new in this world. After a few weeks at school, I'm sure you'll fit in just fine."

A large white marble building came into view on their right as they followed the cobblestone street. "That must be it," Hermione pointed.

It was huge and as they climbed the large marble stairs they noticed a small man in a red and gold uniform, but he wasn't a man. He was… something else. He had long fingers and a beard and a weird looking face. Hermione quickly pulled out her map and scanned the section marked Diagon Alley.

She found the dot for Gringotts and a small caption appeared saying "Gringotts is run entirely by goblins making it by far the safest place in the entire wizarding world for money and valuables. It was established in the early 1700s as the first legitimate goblin business after the goblin uprisings."

"Goblins," Hermione whispered to her parents as they approached the doors.

Mrs. Granger jumped a bit. "Are they friendly?"

"I guess. Wizards keep their money here; it must be okay."

The goblin at the front bowed politely and opened the main door to let them in. They immediately faced another set of double doors and two more goblin guards. Hermione read the large words engraved on the silver doors ahead of them.

"Enter stranger, but take head

Of what awaits the sin of greed

For those who take but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there."

Mr. Granger gulped. "Well they certainly take their security seriously," he said as the two goblin guards bowed them in.

Inside was a large chamber with a long counter on the far wall. Behind the high counter were dozens of goblins who had to have been sitting on high stools. Along the outside walls were several unmarked doors and Hermione could see wizards and witches coming in and out of them. Mr. Granger led his family to a goblin clerk behind the counter.

"May I help you," the goblin said in a snarling yet somehow polite voice.

"Uh, yes. We'd like to exchange our notes for wizard's money. Can we do that here."

"Certainly, let me see your notes," The goblin extended a hand.

Mr. Granger handed him a large wad of notes that amounted to about £500. The goblin seemed to do some quick calculations in his ledger then reached behind the counter and pulled out a small brown bag. He poured a large amount of coins into the bag and handed it to Mr. Granger.

"There you are; a hundred gold galleons. Remember muggles that there are three types of wizard money we use here, galleons, sickles, and knuts. There are seventeen sickles in a galleon and twenty-nine knuts in a sickle."

Hermione remembered this from her summer seminar. "Oh I'd like to exchange this." She handed him a £50 note. The goblin handed her a bag with 10 gold galleons in it.

"Would you like to open an account?" The goblin asked. "Special rates for young witches and wizards."

"Uh," Hermione thought about this. All of her savings were in her local bank. She hadn't thought about converting the whole lot to wizard money but it made sense. "I don't have my money here."

"We'll open one next time, dear," Mrs. Granger told her and they started towards the doors.

When they got outside the bank, Hermione checked her map again. "Okay, there is a book store that way, and a place I can get my school clothes over there, and I see Ollivander's wand shop. There are so many places to choose from."

"Well let's take it one shop at a time. We'll get your school books last," Mrs. Granger decided on the spot.

"What?" Hermione said disheartened. "I wanted to go to the bookstore first."

Mrs. Granger laughed. "I know you did, Hermione. Books are like candy to you. But this way if we go last, you'll be able to spend as much time as you want there. We'll even get you some extra books."

Hermione beamed. "Okay then, let's get my wand first. I'm really excited about getting my wand. Then we can just work our way back down Diagon Alley." She started towards Ollivander's.

The shop wasn't at all what Hermione had expected. It was almost as shabby as the Leaky Caldron and she thought perhaps she was at the wrong building but the peeling letters on the store did say "Ollivander's – Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 BC."

"This is the best place for wands;" Hermione insisted because her parents looked doubtful. "It even says so on the map. Remember, nothing in the wizarding world is as it seems."

A tiny bell rung in the back as they entered and Hermione's mother took a seat on the only small spindly chair in the shop. Hermione rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet in anticipation.

Then Ollivander himself appeared from the back. "Good afternoon. Ah I see it is you young Hermione Granger."

Hermione gave him a quizzical look. "How do you know my name?"

"I have a keen memory. I remember you from the summer seminar. Who could forget such a talented young muggle-born witch?"

"Me?"

"I knew from the moment you took the realizer that you had an extraordinary amount of wizarding aptitude and skill already."

"But, all I did was speak another language. It wasn't anything like what some of the other kids did. One of them blew up all the chairs."

"Unfocused bursts of magical energy," Mr. Ollivander said dismissively. "It's exactly what you expect from young witches and wizards, especially muggle-borns, because they have no training yet. They have no way to really harness their powers appropriately. However, speaking another language requires an incredible amount of focus and aptitude. It's not a power that would usually come from a young, untrained witch holding a realizer, and you spoke two different languages I noticed; one that your mother would recognize and one that your father would recognize. I could tell then that you have the potential to be an extremely successful witch. You already have the discipline and focus."

Mr. Granger was grinning from ear to ear. "Do you hear that, Hermione? You are going to be an excellent witch. You just need to apply yourself, keep to your studies while at Hogwarts."

"Exactly," Mr. Ollivander agreed. "And Hogwarts couldn't be a better choice for a girl of her aptitude." He walked back to the large pile of thin boxes against the back wall. "Now, I'm sure you're here to choose a wand."

Hermione nodded eagerly.

"Well you should know first of all, that the process is the other way around. It is the wand that chooses the witch. However…" He selected a box that looked like it had been singled off.

"After the conference, I came back to my shop and found a wand that I think is perfect for you." He held the box in front of him. "Each wand is different just like no two witches or wizards are the same, even twins. Wands are made from various types of wood and each has a core of a powerful magical substance such as unicorn hairs, phoenix feathers, and dragon heartstrings. This one however is 10 ½ inches, maple, rather swishy, and contains a hair from a particularly spirited and intelligent sphinx I found a very long time ago. I could only get one hair from her; that's usually all you can get from a sphinx. It should be very good for charms and transfiguration.

"It is a powerful wand but since we rarely ever use sphinx tail hairs, it hasn't chosen an owner in all these years. Something tells me though, that this wand was made for you and considering I made it, I'm fairly certain I'm right. Give it a try." He opened the box.

Hermione took the wand with trembling fingers. She felt a strange tingling feeling; the same one she felt when she held the realizer.

"Go ahead." Mr. Ollivander pressed.

Hermione raised the wand and gave it a swish. Before she knew it, three small white birds appeared and flew out the window. "Wow!"

"Very impressive; the most we usually see is some sparks or just a magical pulse. You definitely have potential and this wand… has chosen you," he said proudly. "Use it well, Ms. Granger."

Mr. Granger gladly paid 7 galleons for the wand and they left the shop. Hermione was more excited than she'd been in her life. She had a wand; she now felt like a real witch.

Hermione and her parents continued down Diagon Alley stopping at shops to buy everything she would need from school uniforms, which included black work robes, to potions ingredients. They even found another shop that sold standard school caldrons for 3 galleons, 14 sickles, a better bargain than the first caldron shop they came across. Hermione noticed that everywhere they went, the shopkeepers seemed to know instantly that she was a muggle-born witch. She thought it might be their clothing at first but most of the other kids she saw around were dressed the same as her. No one seemed to mind that she was a muggle-born but it was a little disconcerting to be singled out so readily.

Finally they made their way to Flourish and Blott's Bookstore. The attendant in the store helped Hermione find all of the books on her school list. Then after they had paid for the books, Mr. Granger dropped 7 galleons into Hermione's open hand. "Okay dear, go wild."

Hermione had been waiting for this moment. She started off through the large bookstore by herself, trying to figure out what she wanted to get. The first book she found was a large one in the History of Magic section called "Hogwarts: A History."

"This is perfect," she thought to herself. She'd be able to learn all about Hogwarts before she got there.

She found a few more books about the history of magic and few on magic theory, great events and people of ancient and modern magical eras and books about muggle/wizard relations. She decided that if she was going to be in the wizarding world it was time that she knew as much about it as regular wizards. She wanted to be as smart and knowledgeable as her classmates would surely be. In the end she picked out ten extra books and stacked them on the front counter.

"A bit of light reading?" Mrs. Granger laughed.

"I'm going to be the best witch I can be. When I get to Hogwarts I want to be on the same level as everyone else. That way they won't see me as just another muggle-born witch."

"You'll be fine dear." Mr. Granger said as they headed towards the walled exit of Diagon Alley. "It's just like Mr. Ollivander said, you've already got great potential. Your teachers will see that."

But Hermione wasn't particularly concerned about her teachers. All of her teachers had always liked her. She was more worried about the students. She was worried that she'd be stigmatized for being a muggle-born witch and she really wanted to make friends. She thought about the girl she met at the summer conference, Anne. Maybe she would be at Hogwarts. She wished she had her address so she could write to her and find out. As it was, she couldn't even remember her last name. Hopefully she would meet students at her school who were just as nice as Anne though.

"Hermione, why don't you give that new wand of yours a test run," Mr. Granger said as they approached the wall that would lead back to the leaky caldron.

Hermione reached in one of the bags she was carrying and pulled out her new wand, 10 ½ inches, maple, with a single powerful sphinx tail hair for its core. "Three up; two to the right." she said with a smile.

Oh, yes. She could get used to being a witch.

_A/N: Hope you guys liked it! I wrote this story when I was sixteen, but I still think it's pretty good, so I didn't change much. I should be able to update every few days. Review and tell me what you think!_


	2. The Agonizing Train Ride

_Chapter Summary: This deals with Hermione's train ride and what happened between the two times she entered Harry's Cabin. We also see get to see Parvati and Lavender at their finest._

Hermione threw another set of clothes into the large trunk at the foot of her bed. She was packing to go to Hogwarts. She still had over a week before she had to go, but she was too excited to wait. She wanted to see how much she could take with her.

Throughout the weeks that followed their trip to Diagon Alley Hermione spent all of her free time reading her text books and the other books she'd gotten from Flourish and Blott's. She'd learned a great deal and even practiced a few simple spells that she'd learned from "The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1."

Hermione had also learned about what it meant to be a muggle-born witch. At first, wizard and witches with no discernable magical lineage were shunned from the wizarding world. But over the last two thousand years, that way of thinking changed considerably. Muggle/Wizard marriages were also quite common as well. She was also pleased to learn that Hogwarts, since its establishment four thousand years ago, had always accepted all magical pupils regardless of lineage and from what she read about Albus Dumbledore he was also a fan of good wizard/muggle relations. This made her feel much more comfortable about her choice of school.

Of course their were still witches and wizards out there with a much less progressive view of muggles, muggle-born wizards and witches, and muggle/wizard coupling. Hermione only hoped that now that she had a better understanding of the wizarding world, she would fit in nicely.

She also read up on Magical History. She was intrigued to find out that there had been actual magical wars fought through the years that muggles weren't even aware of. There was even a time when a master of the dark arts, Voldemort, was reeking havoc, killing wizards and muggles alike, and trying to take over. He had been brought down only ten years ago by an unlikely hero: a baby boy named Harry Potter, the only known survivor of the avada kedavra killing curse. Voldemort had tried to use this curse to kill the young boy but it simply rebounded back to him. However nobody knew if Voldemort was really dead and no one in the magical world ever spoke his name. Hermione decided against telling her parents that only ten years prior the entire magical world was in turmoil and that the man responsible for this was still rumored to be around biding his time.

She had of course read "Hogwarts: A History" several times over and now knew everything there was to know about the school, it's heritage and it's four school houses; Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. She knew without a doubt that she wanted to be in Gryffindor. Dumbledore was in Gryffindor and it seemed to be the type of house for those who wanted to excel. Ravenclaw also seemed like a good fit; those in it seemed geared for studying and academics which is definitely where her father wanted her to go. But Gryffindor seemed to offer more to Hermione. It wasn't just for those who wanted to excel academically, but excel in general, take chances and really find out what they can do as a witch or wizard. That's what Hermione really wanted.

All in all, Hermione was excited to be leaving and going off to Hogwarts, away from the trauma of her earlier school years. She was finally going to be around people who were like her. She knew that if she just tried hard enough, she would be able to fit in and really be happy at the school.

The trunk was finally full. She was packed. Now all she had to do was wait. In a week and a half she would be on the way to Hogwarts and her new life.

"Platform 9 ¾, Dear: are you sure?" Mrs. Granger asked timidly as she, her husband, and Hermione stood staring at the barrier between platform nine and platform ten at King's Cross Station. They were still confused as to why Hermione had to take a train to Hogwarts when they had already experienced the magic of instantaneous transport when they went to the summer seminar.

"I'm positive," Hermione said with a smile. She was already wearing her wizards robes. She didn't want to look out of place on the train but this did get her strange looks from some bystanders. "I read all about it in 'What the Muggle Can't See Won't Hurt Him: A Guide to Muggle Proofing in the 20th Century.' Don't worry; I'll be perfectly fine. All I have to do is walk towards the barrier and I'll pass right through. It'll work for me because I'm a witch."

Hermione stopped herself. She realized that she was talking very quickly and spouting out unimportant facts. She was definitely becoming increasingly nervous.

Mrs. Granger recognized this trait too. She smiled down at her bushy-haired daughter. "Don't worry Hermione; I'm sure everything will be okay. Go ahead. I'm guessing we won't be able to go in with you so we'll just say good-bye here."

"Thanks," She hugged both of her parents and then proceeded cautiously towards the barrier pushing the trolley with her trunk.

A few seconds later, she was standing on platform 9 ¾ staring at the huge scarlet engine that was the Hogwarts Express. There were dozens of other students pushing trunks as large as hers and she could hear the hooting of owls echoing all around the platform. It was utterly amazing.

"Hi I'll take that for you," said a friendly attendant. He took the trolley with her trunk on it. "You'd better get on the train. It'll be leaving in a few minutes and you know those cabins fill up fast."

"Oh no," Hermione thought wildly. "I hadn't even thought of who I'm going to sit with."

Anxiety began to build as she looked around at all the little groups on the platform. It seemed like everyone already had friends. She didn't know anyone yet. What was she going to do?

Undaunted, she stepped into the train and began to look around. All of the compartment doors were closed. She walked down the narrow corridor until she finally decided to brave the unknown and open a door. To her relief, there were only two girls sitting in the compartment.

"Uh, hi, my name is Hermione Granger. Can I sit in here?" she asked timidly.

"I suppose," said one of the girls. "My name is Pansy, she's Millicent." The other girl grunted but said nothing.

Hermione gave a half grin and sat down, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

"Granger…" Pansy said slowly. "I've never heard of that wizarding family. Where are you from?"

Hermione gulped. This is what she feared most. "Uh, well my family isn't a wizarding family. See my parents are muggles. I just found out this summer that I'm a witch."

"Oooo, a mud-blood." Pansy snickered. Millicent joined in.

Hermione laughed nervously. She had no idea what the girl was talking about but she didn't want to seem like an idiot.

"I'm sure a girl of your standing would fit well in Hufflepuff," Pansy continued.

"Well, uh actually I was hoping to get into Gryffindor. I read all about the four houses in 'Hogwarts: A History' and I really think that Gryffindor would be the best fit for me. I mean, after reading about Godrick Gryffindor in 'Great Witches and Wizards of the Old Era'…" Hermione realized she was rambling again and stopped herself. "Anyway what house do you two want to be in?"

"Slytherin," Pansy answered without hesitance. "They've won the house cup the past six years. Of course I can understand why you wouldn't want to be in Slytherin. I mean, a muggle-born like you definitely belongs in Gryffindor. You'll fit right in." She started giggling again.

Hermione felt herself turning red. This definitely wasn't going well. She had been around girls like Pansy long enough to know when they were being insulting but she still had no idea what a "mud-blood" was or what she had said or done to make Pansy dislike her.

"Oh no, my stupid rambling has already gotten me in trouble," she thought. She decided to keep her mouth shut.

Thankfully, Pansy suddenly changed the subject. "I heard that Harry Potter is starting at Hogwarts this year too."

Hermione's ears perked. Harry Potter, the boy who lived, was on the Hogwarts Express. She would be going to school with a living legend. In her summer reading she had read several books that mentioned the name of the baby boy who brought down the dark lord Voldemort, but she never realized that he would be starting school the same year as her and at the same school no less.

She wondered if she would be able to meet him or even talk to him just once. He was bound to be the most popular boy in the entire school. He probably already had a ton of friends. Why would he want to associate with a stupid little nothing muggle-born witch when he was on his way to probably being the greatest wizard in the modern era? Still, just to be able to see him would be something.

Hermione let all of these thoughts float in her head as Pansy prattled on. "… and just because of some fluke when he was a baby, he'll probably get special treatment from the professors."

Hermione realized very quickly that Pansy didn't seem to like anyone. She had been around enough people like her to know that she wouldn't be making any new friends here. Millicent didn't seem to say much but judging from the way she laughed at everything Pansy said, this was definitely a lost cause. She would have given anything for an excuse to leave.

As if in answer to her silent prayers, there was a knock on the door. A round face boy stuck his head in. "Excuse me, have you seen a toad. I seem to have lost mine," he said in a sad sort of voice.

Pansy laughed again. "A toad! You brought a toad! Well I can understand why it would run away. Obviously it's ashamed of having such a stupid master to deal with."

Hermione had had just about enough of Pansy's snide remarks. "Oh shut it. I swear you don't have a descent thing to say about anyone." She stood and pulled the boy out of the cabin. "Come on, I'll help you find your toad." She gave a quick look back. "I did see two toads in here, but they're both too ugly and foul tempered to be yours," and with that she left.

"I can't believe that girl," Hermione mumbled furiously. "Thinking she's better than everyone else. Well I'll show her. I may not be from a 'wizarding family' but I'm just as much a witch as she is." She suddenly remembered that she was dragging the round face boy with her and he looked extremely confused. "Oh I'm sorry. Those two just made me so mad. My name is Hermione Granger."

"Neville Longbottom," the boy said. "Nice to meet you. Thanks for helping me find Trevor."

"Who?"

"My toad," he reminded her.

"Oh right," Hermione was still fuming over the incident. It had put her in a terrible mood. "Well I guess we better get started then." She headed for another compartment door and slid the door open not hearing Neville's protests of, "but I just tried there."

Inside the compartment were two boys, one with glasses and straight black hair that seemed to go all over the place and another with flaming red hair who was holding a wand.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one." She still had a trace of irritation in her voice as a residual from her encounter with Pansy.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," the red headed boy said with a matching tone of irritation.

But Hermione didn't really hear him because her attention was immediately drawn to the wand in the boy's hand. Obviously the boy was doing magic. This was the perfect opportunity to see how real wizards did magic. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it then." She sat down.

The red headed boy hesitated but then started in confidently saying "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow."

"Right," thought Hermione. "Now this boy's making fun of me too. Like I'm supposed to believe that was a spell. Do I have muggle-born stamped on my forehead or something? How can everyone tell? Maybe it's my teeth."

Hermione decided to show the boy that she wasn't as stupid as she must look. "Are you sure that's a real spell?" she started, giving him a "you must be an idiot" look. "Well it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all," she added with satisfaction. "It was ever-such a surprised when I got my letter but I was ever-so pleased of course. I mean it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard. I've learned all are course books by heart, of course. I just hope it will be enough. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. Who are you?"

She realized all too late that instead of gloating her nervousness had kicked in once again and she was rambling, practically spilling out all of her insecurities to these perfect strangers.

Hermione, shut up, just shut up for once. At this rate you'll never make any friends. Judging by the look on the boy's face she was right. He obviously thought she was an insane muggle girl who needed to be sent home. She chanced a look at the other boy in the moment of silence. She couldn't read his expression as clearly but she felt like she was being drawn into his green eyes. They were so full of mystery...

"I'm Ron Weasley," the red headed one said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Harry Potter," said the other boy.

Hermione felt faint. She was glad she was sitting down. She had just made a complete and utter fool of herself in front of the one person on the entire train that really mattered. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, that could put her in this boy's good graces but she soon regretted it as she heard herself talk.

"Are you really?" she started with fake surprise. "I know all about you of course. I got a few extra books for background reading and you're in 'Modern Magical History' and 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts' and 'Great Wizarding events of the 20th Century.'"

"Am I?" Harry asked, looking dazed.

At first, Hermione thought he too was making fun of her. "Of course he knows all of this. It is him after all. I'm so stupid." But something in his green eyes, she couldn't stop staring at them, told her that he was genuinely clueless. He wasn't making fun of her.

Hermione opened her mouth again to try and start a real dialogue with him. "Goodness, you didn't know? I'd have found out everything I could if it was me. Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor. It sounds by far the best. I hear Dumbledore himself was in it. But I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad."

"Rambling… rambling!" Hermione screamed silently to herself.

"Anyway we better go look for Neville's toad," she said finding her escape.

Neville still stood silently in the doorway.

"You two had better change. You know, I expect we'll be there soon." She backed out of the door and closed it before turning around and collapsing against the wall.

"I am so stupid," she muttered to herself. Neville had already become occupied with searching for his toad again and was a few feet away from her now. "Why does that always happen to me when I'm nervous? I just made an idiot of myself in front of Harry Potter. Why me?"

She thought about her encounter with Harry Potter while she continued to help Neville in his search. He wasn't quite what she had expected. She had imagined Harry Potter as a braggart who wouldn't have anything to do with a witch or wizard who wasn't as skilled as he was. The boy she met was quiet, almost pensive.

But then again, there was that red headed kid, Ron. Something about him really aggravated her. He definitely had an ego problem. If that was the kind of person the famous Harry Potter hung out with, there was no chance for someone like her to get close to him.

"Oh well," she thought. "I'm sure I can make other friends."

At one point, Hermione decided to take a detour to the front of the train to find the conductor. They were approaching the castle. The thought of actually being able to see Hogwarts for the first time made her stomach jump.

"Hey, give him back!" Hermione heard Neville shout.

She snapped out of her thoughts and saw that down the hall, some taller boys were gathered around Neville. They were tossing something around, a toad.

"What are you doing? Give that back to him," she said as she ran down the corridor to face the bullies.

"Oh and what are you going to do about it." One of the boys said, smirking at her.

"Nothing," another boy answered for her. "She's just a stupid little first year."

With that, he grabbed the toad and started racing down the corridor. The others followed, screaming and shouting all the way.

Hermione gritted her teeth. "Stupid little first year am I?" She pulled out her wand. Her temper was rising. She had had enough of all of the teasing and torment that this trip had brought her. She raised her wand and muttered a few choice words. Immediately a stream of blue fire flew from her wand to the boy with the toad.

He was so shocked that he dropped Trevor. "What the…" His robe caught on fire and he ran off to extinguish himself. His friends followed laughing.

Neville took off after the toad. "Trevor, come back here."

There was more chaos in the corridor as several more people went running by her in all directions. Hermione found herself once again in the threshold of Harry and Ron's compartment. She didn't really know how she had gotten there again but one look at the mess in the compartment told her something was amiss.

"What has been going on?" she asked concerned.

But the red headed boy, Ron, ignored her seemingly more concerned about a rat than her question. He started talking to Harry as if she weren't even there.

It was then that she realized that she hated this boy. At least Pansy had the decency to be rude to her openly. Ron was the limit. He acted like she didn't even exist and he treated her like a moron. Since he was obviously Harry's close friend, Hermione knew there was know way she could ever make friends with him either.

She turned to look at Harry, and found once again that she was trapped by his eyes. Something about them just seemed… different. His expression always seemed innocent and pure, but then why did he keep such horrid company?

"Can we help you with something?" Ron asked impatiently, snapping Hermione out of her thoughts. She realized that she had been standing there, staring like an idiot for several minutes.

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on," she said with an equal tone of impatience. "I've just been up to the front to as the conductor and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there." "And it'll serve you right," she added silently.

"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," Ron retorted. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"

Hermione returned the scowl. This had by far been the worst trip of her life. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and slap Ron but instead she left saying, "Alright. I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors. And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way. Did you know?" She added with a hint of satisfaction in her voice.

"Stupid git," she added mentally to herself.

The train was slowing and as she started down the corridor to find another compartment to sit in, she made a vow to herself. She was going to be the best. There wouldn't be a witch or wizard at Hogwarts that could touch her. She would show them all: Pansy, Millicent, Ron, all of the stupid people she'd met so far. They'd rue the day they teased this muggle-born witch.

Reading it in a book was nothing like experiencing it for herself in real life. Standing there, in front of the entire school for the sorting ritual was by far the worst form of torture she had experienced all day.

All she could do to calm her nerves was continuously cycle through all the spells she had memorized over the summer and hope that having all of this knowledge would trick the sorting hat into thinking she was a fully fledged witch and not a muggle-born. Then she'd have a chance of getting her wish and becoming a part of Gryffindor. So tricking a hat that could read your mind wasn't exactly the best plan in the world, but it was the only one she could come up with.

"Gryffindor!" the sorting hat shouted and the sandy haired boy, Seamus Finnigan, rushed off to the Gryffindor table. So far he was the second Gryffindor to be named. Lavender Brown was the first, and if Hermione wasn't mistaken the next name that would be called would be…

"Granger, Hermione." Professor McGonagall's voice cut through her thoughts.

Hermione practically ran to the stool and jammed the sorting hat on her head.

"You don't honestly think I'm that gullible," said a voice in her ear. "I wasn't enchanted yesterday, you know."

Hermione was very confused. She hadn't expected the hat to actually be able to talk to her.

"Of course I know you're a muggle-born and that doesn't really matter. I see you have everything it takes to meet your hearts desire, so I'll grant your wish and send you to… Gryffindor!" Hermione was about to take the hat off and go to her chosen table when she heard another whisper from the hat. "Be yourself, Hermione and you'll get all of your heart's desires."

She took off the sorting hat, wondering how much of her insecurities the hat had gotten into. Trying not to think of it, she went to the table and sat beside the house prefect.

Later, during dinner, Hermione learned that the house prefect that she was sitting beside was an older brother of that horrible boy Ron. Apparently he had three of them, all in Gryffindor. But unlike Ron, Percy the prefect was extremely kind to her and as eager about studying as she was. She was actually able to have a descent conversation with the fifth-year student.

"Hopefully I'll meet more people like him," she thought to herself. Even though Percy wouldn't be in any of the same classes as her, at least he was in the same house and that meant there was at least one person so far she knew she could talk to; even if he was the brother of that vile Ron Weasley. Hermione had eagerly scanned the entire room but she never did see the red-headed girl, Anne, she had met earlier that summer. She guessed, sadly, she had gone to another school.

On the other side of Percy was none other than Harry Potter. He too had made it into Gryffindor, along with his lapdog Ron.

She noted that once again, he didn't say much. Why was that boy so quiet? Was it that he didn't associate with the "little people" choosing to let Ron talk for him? Was it that he had something he was hiding? No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get any sort of reading on the boy.

Professor Dumbledore was standing now. Hermione turned her attention to the high table to listen as he gave a few announcements.

As it turned out, Hermione only had two roommates, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. They seemed nice enough, but far too girly for Hermione's taste. All they seemed to know how to do was giggle. It was clear these two would become the best of friends, what wasn't clear was if Hermione would be able to fit in too.

"Why does everything feel like it's a test," Hermione thought to herself as she walked into her room and sat on the bed that had her trunk at the foot of it.

"This place is amazing!" Lavender squealed as she plopped down on her bed.

"Yeah, it's so beautiful," Parvati added as she entered. "I wonder what Padma's dormitory is like."

"I can't believe you two are in different houses. That's so weird, you're twins."

"Yeah I know but I guess we're different in our own way," Parvati said. "It would have been cool having her here though."

Lavender examined the curtains around her bed. "This place has everything."

"I love the subtle magic everywhere," Hermione added. "The candles automatically light at night. Almost all the paintings were done by Sanderson Selvington, one of the greatest wizard painters of the old era. Then there are the magical corridors that were enchanted by Godrick Gryffindor himself as another way to teach students of Hogwarts how to use their environment to their advantage. Did you know that if you know the right charms, you can go anywhere in the castle in a matter of minutes by making the halls and stairs shift to where you want. There must be over fifty secret rooms here."

Lavender and Parvati were staring at her. "Whoa, where did you get all of that from?" Lavender asked.

"Hogwarts: A History." Hermione answered knowingly. She was beginning to wonder if anyone else in the entire school had ever read the book. How could you go to a school that you didn't know anything about?

Lavender bounced lightly on her four-poster. "So do you know any charms that could get us over to the boy's dormitories?" she asked with a giggle. "I wonder what there rooms are like."

Hermione didn't have an answer to that.

"I just want to know what Harry's dorm is like," Parvati added. "Can you believe he's actually in our house? I could just die."

"He's going to be the most famous wizard at Hogwarts," Lavender said dreamily.

"Do you think he already has a girlfriend?" Parvati asked.

"A little too soon to be thinking about that," Hermione said with more disdain than she had intended. "You don't even know the boy."

"I can get to know him," Parvati said with a slight sulk.

"I'm not sure about that," Hermione said as she fell back on her bed exhausted. "He doesn't talk much. He lets that Ron kid do all the talking for him, I've noticed. He barely said a whole sentence to me when I met him."

"You met him!" Lavender and Parvati both jumped on Hermione's bed now. "What was he like?" Lavender asked.

"What did he say?" Parvati pressed.

"Pretty much nothing," Hermione said, shocked at their response. "Like I said, that rat, Ron Weasley did most of the talking. You'd think they were joined at the hip or something." Maybe her disdain for Ron was a little out of hand.

"That's weird." Lavender had a rare pensive look on her face. "I heard Harry Potter had to live with muggles all his life away from the wizarding world. How would he know the Weasley family?"

"Really?" Hermione had never known that. None of the books that talked about Harry Potter mentioned that he went to live with muggles. It sort of made sense though since both of his parents died. Maybe his only living relatives were muggles.

"So he's just like me. He grew up never knowing about his powers or anything about the wizarding world." Hermione realized she and the famous Harry Potter actually had a lot in common. She thought back to the haunting look that she had seen in his eyes on the train. Maybe, he was just as lost and confused and scared about this new world as she was. Maybe he just latched on to the first person that was nice to him and that's why he's friends with Ron. If only she could find a way to talk to him.

"I'll bet you I can get him to talk to me first." Parvati was telling Lavender. They were still on Hermione's bed.

"Oh please," Hermione said with a huff as she sat up again. "He's not a prize to be won. He's just a boy like everyone else. It's stupid to just go throwing yourself at him."

Parvati gave Hermione a brief look of disdain but then her smile returned. "Well I guess we know you won't be any competition."

"I've got other things to worry about," Hermione said in a half mutter as she collapsed on her bed again. "I mean this is a school isn't it."

She didn't have time to worry about Harry Potter, or her ditzy roommates. She had a school to conquer. It was time to show Hogwarts what she was made of.

_A/N: Hope you loved it! Leave a review!_


	3. Pansy's Big Mouth

_Chapter Summery: Covers Hermione's first few weeks in school including the incident in their first flying lesson. Only this is what really happened… from Hermione's point of view._

"Dear Mum and Dad,

My first week has been great. I love all of my classes, especially transfiguration. It's really difficult but it's well worth it. Professor McGonagall told me in private that she thinks I have real potential (and that's something coming from the toughest teacher at Hogwarts). The only class I'm not really sure about is Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Quirrell doesn't seem to be the type of person who can teach us much about defending against dark magic; although he does seem to know a fair bit about trolls. I guess time will tell.

The castle is wonderful. Everyday I find something new and they certainly don't let us starve. The meals are great, I don't know how they prepare them all but they must have a huge kitchen staff. My dormitory is wonderful. Living in the Gryffindor house is everything I imagined it would be. My roomates, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown are both really nice girls and I really like them.

The Gryffindor prefect, Percy Weasley, is very kind to me, and he gives me a lot of guidance.

All in all, everything is going well. There are lots of other witches and wizards here who are just like me so I don't feel too out of place. I'm looking forward to starting flying lessons soon so I'll be sure to write you after my first class this week. I hope you two are doing well. I know your practices are pretty busy during this time of the year. I can't wait to see you for the holidays.

Love from,

Hermione"

Hermione rolled over on her back on her bed and re-read her letter. Satisfied, she folded the parchment and climbed off the four-poster. She walked down the stairs to the Gryffindor common room and waved a silent hi to Parvati, Lavender, and some other first year Gryffindor girls that she hadn't met as she headed through the portal to the corridor. It was their Friday afternoon break and these girls were spending this free time having a lively, giggle-filled conversation. Hermione didn't need to hear what they were saying to know that the topic had to be boys. It was always boys.

Hermione had tried, she really had tried, to be a part of their group and join in on their conversations, but she couldn't bring herself to be that vapid all the time. Lavender and Parvati just didn't share the same interests as she did. It wasn't that they were mean to her. On the contrary, they were always very nice and polite even though they didn't really understand her. They were good roommates, but Hermione just couldn't open up to them, or anyone else for that matter.

The only person she'd really talked to was Percy Weasley, the house prefect, but that was mostly about classes. Everyone else thought Percy was pompous and smug but he never treated Hermione that way because she was just as interested in advancing at Hogwarts as he was. Percy was always eager to shell out some advice to Hermione, and the young witch could hold her own in any verbal debate. Even so, Percy wasn't the kind of person she'd be willing to open up to about her personal life.

Hermione thought about her first few days at Hogwarts as she made her way towards the owlery. She hadn't lied to her parents; she was having the time of her life at Hogwarts so far. It was everything she dreamed of and more. She had already earned close to one hundred points for Gryffindor. She already had a good start with all of the studying she had done over the summer. All of her teachers were impressed, except Snape, the Potions Master and head of Slytherin house. But he seemed to dislike everyone, a trait all Slytherins seemed to possess from their head of house down. Hermione often wondered how they got along with each other.

Snape was by far the worse though, being a professor. Gryffindors had they potions lessons with the Slytherins and Snape was more than unfairly biased. He seemed to use this class as his own personal torture session for the Gryffindors and his main target was Harry Potter.

She thought back to her first potions lesson, which was earlier that day. Snape had given Harry a personal pop quiz in front of the whole class, asking him questions no first year could have possibly known the answer to; well except Hermione of course, but the professor never gave her the chance.

It was still rare, even after several days of school, to see Harry talk. Occasionally she would see him talking with his roommates during meals, but other than that he seemed to confide only in Ron Weasley.

This time though, Ron couldn't do his speaking for him. Snape was drilling him and only him for the answers to these complex questions. Hermione had tried to help. She figured if she could just get Snape to call on her, he'd leave Harry alone. But no matter how high she raised her hand, the professor had ignored her. He was intent on making a mockery of Harry Potter. All Harry could say was "I don't know," except for when he added, "I think Hermione does though. Why don't you try her?" causing Hermione to blush.

Of course, all of the classes weren't that intense. In fact, her first transfiguration class earlier that week was memorable in its own humorous way. Apparently Parvati was serious about trying to get Harry to notice her. She had plopped down right beside him in and did everything she could to get his attention from batting her eyes, to trying to whisper something Hermione couldn't hear. Parvati was so engrossed in trying to get Harry's attention that she failed to notice McGonagall standing right behind her.

"Ms. Patil!" she shouted after two full minutes of watching Parvati's antics. "If you are quite finished displaying your skills as a mime to Mr. Potter, I'd like to continue on with class."

Harry hadn't even noticed what Parvati was doing so hearing his named mentioned caused him to blush as well as Parvati. It was all Hermione could do to keep from laughing.

"Serves her right," she thought as she opened the door to the owlery. Even this many days after the event, Hermione still couldn't think about the scene without cracking a smile.

She found the nearest school owl and tied her letter to its leg. It took off immediately without any further prompting. She wondered if her mother would be able to see through the letter and know that she hadn't really made any friends yet. She didn't want her folks to worry about her. Even though she hadn't formed any tight bonds, she was still much happier than she had been at her old school. That was enough for her.

Still…

She constantly played back the sorting hat's final words to her. "Be yourself, Hermione and you'll get all of your heart's desires."

What she desired most was someone she could really be friends with, who would accept her for who she was and not judge her or hate her because she was smart. It wasn't that she wanted someone who was just like her or as into studying as her. She didn't need a clone. All she wanted was someone she could be herself around and know that they would always be okay with that, no matter how strange she could be. She wanted… a best friend.

She couldn't help but think about Anne. She was more like her than anyone she had met so far, aside from Percy. And she was her age. Maybe she had overlooked her back in the Great Hall. She decided to keep a sharp eye out in case she spotted her.

As she left the owlery, her thoughts strayed from Anne and went to Harry Potter. He'd never teased her, but he'd never really talked to her either. He was raised with muggles, but he was by far the most famous wizard at Hogwarts. He had probably come to Hogwarts looking for a friend just like her, but unlike her, he had no problems finding someone who would want to be his friend. What would have happened if she had found Harry Potter first?

"Bloody unfair," she muttered as she headed towards the library.

Anyone who knew Hermione would have been able to tell instantly how nervous she was the morning of their first flying lesson.

"You see, flying is really very easy as long as you know the proper techniques," she said lively during breakfast. "I read all about it in 'Quidditch Through the Ages.' I mean who better to learn about broomstick flying from than from professional quidditch players. Of course, there is some skill and practice involved but it's just like anything else, once you've studied the technique, you're halfway there. I'm sure it will be fine."

She stuffed a piece of toast in her mouth to shut herself up, but it was no use. The moment she swallowed, she knew that she'd be talking again. She couldn't help it. Of course since no one else knew this about her, she guessed she sounded as pompous and smug as people accused Percy of being.

"I wonder if Percy gets nervous a lot and that's why people think he's pompous," she thought to herself. "Then again he doesn't seem to prattle on like I do. Maybe really smart people always seem pompous when they're really nervous. Now that actually did sound pompous. It's a good thing I didn't say that out loud." Hermione suddenly realized that not only was she rambling aloud, she was even rambling in her thoughts. It was then that she realized just how much flying really terrified her. She didn't even know why. It wasn't like she was afraid of heights.

It was actually more like she was afraid of failing. She had to admit to herself that flying wasn't something you could learn from a book. After two weeks of outshining everyone in her classes, she didn't want to look like a complete idiot on a broomstick. To top things off they had flying lessons with none other than the Slytherins. Just what she needed, to make a fool of herself in front of Pansy Parkinson. So far Hermione hadn't been able to give the girl much ammunition for her insults, but one slip up during flying and she knew she'd never hear the end of it.

As if in answer to her silent prayers to have a distraction from thinking and talking about flying, the mail owls arrived. A large barn owl landed in front of her with a letter. She opened it eagerly. She rarely got mail and it was always from her parents but she didn't complain. In the entire time they'd been there, she'd only seen Harry Potter get one letter. Maybe his family didn't like using owls as mail carriers. Hermione's folks had gotten used to it very quickly and loved how fast the owls delivered letters back and forth.

As she had expected, the letter was from her mom.

"Dear Hermione,

If I'm right, you'll be receiving this letter during breakfast right before your first flying lesson this afternoon. So the first thing I should tell you is hush up. What will your friends think of you if they hear you rambling on about whatever book you poured over last night to prepare you for this?"

Hermione grinned. If anyone understood Hermione, it was her mother, having known her for eleven years. She continued the letter.

"In any case, dear, I'm sure you'll do just fine today. I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying classes and school in general but don't forget to enjoy life as well. I know in time, you'll find the right way to balance both."

Hermione tucked the note away in her robes and began to feel a bit better about her upcoming class. It was then she noticed Draco Malfoy and two other Slytherins standing at the table near Harry, Ron, and Neville. Professor McGonagall was also there, though she seemed to be leaving. Malfoy dropped something on the table and left with his friends. From the angry looks on Harry and Ron's faces, she realized she must have missed some sort of fight. Whatever it was, McGonagall had broken it up and now it was time for them to leave for their first class.

"Up!" Hermione ordered. The broom by her side barely moved. She wondered vaguely if maybe it was so old, it couldn't respond correctly. The handle had been broken at some point and repaired by spellotape.

Other brooms had done exactly what Madame Hooch had said they would do, which was fly up into their hands. Why wasn't this working for her? At least Pansy was having the same problem.

"Up!" she shouted at her broom again, though this time it was more of a plea.

The broom slowly rose to her hand. Hermione wondered if it was out of pity. No matter, at least she had gotten this far.

"Now mount your broom like so," Madam Hooch said, demonstrating on her own broom.

Hermione mimicked her example; keeping in mind everything she had read the previous night.

"Very good Ms. Granger," the teacher said. "Perfect form."

Hermione let out a sigh of relief as the teacher passed her. So far so good. Even Neville, who was right beside her, was getting the hang of it and he was the most nervous of them all.

Now all they had to do was fly up, hover for a bit and fly back down. It seemed simple enough.

Then she noticed Pansy Parkinson whispering something slyly to Draco Malfoy. They were both chuckling about something. Then Pansy looked up from their conversation and muttered something in Hermione's direction.

"Did she just cast a spell at me?" Hermione wondered.

Then it happened. Before Madam Hooch had had even blown her whistle, Neville was in the air. He was floating higher and higher, a look of shock and fright on his face. Hermione looked up at him and then across to Pansy, who was laughing hysterically with Malfoy. What had just happened?

Now Neville was falling. He landed with a loud thud only a few feet away.

"Poor Neville," Hermione heard Parvati sigh on the other side of her. "He shouldn't have kicked off so hard."

"But he didn't kick off." Hermione said whirling around. "I was right beside him. His broom just started on its own."

But nobody heard her. All of the Gryffindors were gathering around Madam Hooch who was leaning over Neville's still body. If he hadn't been a wizard, the fall probably would have killed him. As it was, he just had a broken wrist. Madam Hooch picked up a very distraught Neville and started walking him to the hospital wing. Before she left, she made it very clear that if anyone attempted to fly while she was gone they'd be expelled.

As soon as they were gone, the Slytherins started laughing. Hermione was sure that Pansy was the cause of the accident; she just couldn't prove it. No one saw what really happened except for her and Malfoy, and he certainly wouldn't tell.

And speaking of Malfoy, it seemed he was causing even more trouble. "Look, it's that stupid thing, Longbottom's Gran sent him." He held a small round object in his hand now. Hermione recognized it immediately as a rememberall. She had read all about them in "101 Magical Objects to Make Your Everyday Life Easier."

Harry Potter approached Malfoy slowly, but deliberately. "Give that here, Malfoy." He spoke softly, but there was a notable trace of anger in his voice.

Hermione did a double take. Harry Potter spoke! He was actually going to stick up for Neville and on his own, without Ron's help. From the stunned silence that followed the statement, it seemed that everyone else was equally shocked at what was occurring.

Malfoy, however, would not be so easily swayed. He hopped on one of the school broomsticks and took off into the air. When he was level with the top of a nearby tree he called, "Come and get it Potter."

Everyone turned from Malfoy to Harry. Without hesitation, he mounted his broomstick.

"No!" Hermione shouted. She knew as well as everyone else that Harry couldn't fly. What if he got hurt like Neville, or worse? She had to stop him. "Madam Hooch told us not to move. You'll get us all into trouble," she added quickly thinking that he'd back down if he thought his friends might be punished for his actions. But it didn't work. Harry was soon in the air.

Hermione's mouth dropped, Harry Potter was not only flying, but he was flying well. Her thoughts drifted back to the speed and grace of the quidditch players in "Quidditch Throughout the Ages," and saw the same sort of natural skill in Harry's flying. It was like he belonged in the air. How could he have been raised by muggles and be that good?

"Look at him go!" Lavender squealed as they watched Harry dart towards Malfoy. "He's amazing. The best flyer I've ever seen."

Hermione looked towards the knot of Slytherins nearby. Pansy was fingering her wand. Was she going to do the same thing to Harry that she had done to Neville? It was supposed to be impossible to curse most brooms, but the school brooms were probably so old that they had lost most of their protection.

Ever so casually, Hermione pulled her wand from her pocket. Everyone had their eyes on the midair duel between Draco and Harry. Now Harry was diving expertly, about to catch the rememberall and land safely. Pansy's eyes glinted malevolently as she raised her wand.

"Expelliarmus," she whispered. Her disarming charm wasn't powerful enough to send Pansy's wand souring through the air like it was supposed to, mainly because she had whispered it, but it did the trick. Pansy's wand was knocked from her hand as if someone had bumped into her. It gave Harry plenty of time to get down to the ground without any interference. Everyone was applauding and slapping Harry on the back until…

"Harry Potter!" It was the unmistakable voice of Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall. Her outraged cry was so unexpected it caused Hermione and several other students to jump.

Apparently she had seen everything and the look in her eyes told everyone that she was far from pleased. Despite protests from all of the Gryffindors present, she dragged Harry off into the castle.

"You Jerk!" Hermione whirled on Malfoy in an instant. "This is all your fault. You should have gotten punished too! And you," she said spitefully to Pansy. "I know what you were up to."

"And what are you going to do about it, Granger?," Pansy retorted snidely.

Hermione's hand clenched around her wand, but then she heard the distant blow of a whistle.

"That will be enough from you two." Madam Hooch had returned. "Back to your brooms, all of you. This lesson isn't over."

Hermione stormed back to her spellotaped broom, fuming and well aware of Pansy's silent giggles behind her. Her mind was already racing to form a plan to get her back. To her great delight, the opportunity came just before the end of the lesson.

As it turned out, flying wasn't nearly as difficult as she thought it would be. Twenty minutes into the lesson, Madam Hooch had them hovering slowly over the courtyard practicing altitude control.

Hermione was high in the air now. The wind was much stronger up here and she used this as a chance to practice controlling her broom. She was getting very good at it.

Pansy Parkinson shot up to where she was. "Ooo, Granger, better not fly too high. You may end up just like fat crybaby Neville," she shouted over the wind.

"You're a snake; you and all your Slytherin friends. I don't know how you did it but I saw you cast some sort of spell on Neville's broom."

"The great Hermione Granger doesn't know something?" Pansy teased. She moved her broomstick towards Hermione's.

Afraid she was going to try something, Hermione whipped out her wand instinctively.

Pansy laughed but stopped moving. "You are a big baby aren't you? Just like all the Gryffindors. If I'd wanted to knock you off that broom, I'd have done it a long time ago. I was just going to tell you how I got Neville, seeing as how I know you can't bare not to know something." She was still shouting over the wind.

This gave Hermione an idea. She muttered, "sonorous," before putting her wand away.

Pansy laughed again, completely mishearing Hermione's spell. "Ooh, aren't we polite dear, but you don't have to say sorry to me. It's not your fault you're a nothing little muggle-born. And as for Longbottom, I didn't have to enchant his broom, all I had to do was put a hovering charm on him, he was such a nervous little baby, I knew he'd immediately grab onto his broom and everyone would think he just couldn't control it."

"You're going to get it," Hermione said scowling.

"You wish." Pansy gave her a wicked grin. "Like anyone would ever believe you."

Just then they heard the familiar whistle of Madam Hooch calling them back to the ground.

Hermione made sure she went down behind Pansy. She pulled out her wand again, making sure to keep one hand firmly on her broom. "Quietus," she muttered as she pointed the wand at Pansy's back. Hopefully that did the trick.

"That's it for today's lesson and Ms. Parkinson, come with me," Madam Hooch had a rare look of pure anger in her eyes.

Pansy was completely surprised. "What?"

Madam Hooch grabbed her by the arm and dragged her towards the castle. "Of all the nerve, casting a spell on Neville, you should be ashamed of yourself. We'll see how funny you think it is to hurt another student when you're serving a full week of detention in the hospital wing; and 50 points from Slytherin."

"Why'd she have to open her big mouth and shout about it for the whole class to hear?" Malfoy said angrily. " What a waste!"

The Gryffindors were all laughing. "And to think she would have gotten away with it if she'd just kept her mouth shut instead of gloating about it to Hermione," Ron said. "Guess she didn't know the wind would carry her voice like that. I can't wait to tell Harry. Maybe McGonagall'll ease up on his punishment when she finds out the whole story." The other Gryffindors nodded in agreement.

Hermione opened her mouth to tell them that it was she who had tricked Pansy using the sonorous spell that she'd learned from "Magical Theory" but once again no one was listening to her. She sighed; no one ever listened to the mouthy know-it-all. She had single handedly saved Harry earlier and gotten revenge on Pansy and no one would ever know. Harry's reckless heroism had earned him, if possible, even more fame among the students, but her clever spell work had profited her nothing. She was still just as unpopular and just as invisible.

"Bloody unfair," she sighed as she walked into the castle a few feet behind the rest of the Gryffindors.

_A/N: Don't you just feel sorry for poor Hermione? :(_

_I'll update as soon as I can!_


	4. The Midnight Adventure

_Chapter Summary: Hermione's outing with Harry, Ron and Neville where they first get to meet our favorite three headed dog._

There were many things in the magical world that Hermione was grateful for, and one of them happened to be the silencing charm. She had learned very quickly that Lavender's snores rivaled that of a jet engine. Parvati could sleep through the third world war so it never bothered her, but after reading "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Hermione was sure that Lavender's snores were far worse than the maddening song of the African Fwooper. So she quickly learned how to cast a silencing spell and it had worked wonders for their sleeping arrangements, so long as Lavender never found out.

Still, this particular night, Hermione couldn't sleep even with the silencing charm blocking Lavender's snores. The events of the day were still rolling through her mind.

As it had turned out, Harry Potter hadn't gotten in trouble for his antics in the courtyard. Professor McGonagall had instead gotten special permission from the headmaster for Harry to join the house Quidditch team as seeker. He needed special permission to do this because first years weren't even allowed to have a broom let alone join their house teams.

Hermione thought back to Pansy's words on the train ride, "…and just because of some fluke when he was a baby, he'll probably get special treatment from the professors." She hated to admit it, but Pansy was right.

Hermione sighed. She knew that she was jealous. She was jealous of Harry Potter for being so famous and so loved, and so happy while she was stuck being invisible and miserable. Okay, so it wasn't Harry's fault that he was popular. He hadn't even known who he was until this year, right? So why did it bother her so much?

She rolled over in bed. It had to be what happened at dinner that night. It was then that she realized how reckless and self-centered Harry and Ron really were. They had challenged Malfoy and one of his cronies to a wizard's duel at midnight. Harry was going to break the one rule that the Hogwarts professors, especially McGonagall, held sacred: students were not to be out of bed after their curfew.

This was all Ron's fault, Hermione decided immediately. Ron was obviously now Harry's best friend and she could tell that he was constantly pushing Harry in the wrong direction. Hermione had watched as Ron, not Harry arranged the midnight wizard's duel. He was just trying to ride Harry's coattails and what better way to do that then to push him into being the "hero" that everyone expected him to be. Each harebrained scheme that Harry got away with made him more popular and that made Ron more popular for being his best friend. And what did it matter to Ron if Harry finally got in trouble or hurt for listening to him?

This stupid wizard's duel, it was a trick and she knew it. Malfoy had no intention of going. Hermione had overheard him and Pansy laughing about how they'd figure out a way to get Harry in trouble. She'd tried several times to talk them out of it, but they wouldn't listen. Apparently the more popular Harry became, the more unpopular she became. It was a terrible reality she only just beginning to face.

She rolled over again. "So what if I'm bossy, I know I'm right. He shouldn't be dong this. He'll get in trouble; Gryffindor will get in trouble, and for what? So Harry and Ron can get just a bit more fame."

Hermione sat up and looked at her watch; it was nearly time. She couldn't sleep; not until she stopped them. She climbed out of bed and pulled a pink bathrobe over her nightgown. Then she snuck quietly out the door and down the stairs to the common room.

No sooner had she found a seat in one of the large armchairs did she hear the sound of feet descending the opposite stairway. It was Ron and Harry. She was half hoping they'd chickened out. Now she really was going to have to confront them. This would definitely get ugly.

They didn't even notice her as they walked towards the portal. So she flicked on a lamp and called out to them. "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry."

The look on Ron's face was a mixture of anger and shock. Harry, as usual, was hard to read, but it almost seemed as if he couldn't believe he was doing this himself. Perhaps he felt guilty about breaking two school rules in one day. Maybe there was still a chance to talk him out of it.

Ron started hissing at her to go to bed and soon they were arguing. "I almost told your brother you know," she countered. Ron knew that Percy had befriended the young witch and probably would have believed her if she told on them. In truth, Hermione had never had any intentions on telling Percy; she just liked seeing Ron squirm.

Harry had made up his mind, no longer looking guilty, but determined. "Come on," He told Ron as he pushed open the portal to the corridor.

Without thinking Hermione followed after them, jumbled thoughts swirling around her head. Why was it that no one ever listened to her? It was bad enough that she was constantly fighting with this brainless git, Ron, but she was beginning to notice that Harry always acted as if the only person that was there was his best friend. He didn't have the decency to tell her off himself. Ron did almost all his yelling for him. At least Harry gave Malfoy the courtesy of speaking to him when he was mad at him. She was lucky if Harry told her to shove off. Did that make her even lower than Malfoy that Harry didn't even waste words on her?

"Can't he tell that I'm just worried about him? He should be glad someone is worried about him, goodness knows Ron isn't."

She was still arguing with Ron. "Go, away!" He told her for the second time.

What was the use, Harry wasn't even listening. Why should she even bother caring? If they lost points for the house for this little stunt, maybe they wouldn't be as popular tomorrow morning. She'd had enough of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. She wasn't going to lose anymore sleep over these two idiots. "All right, but I warned you," she said with a hiss. "You just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow."

She turned on her heels to reenter the common room, but the portrait hole had swung shut and the Gryffindor guardian, the Fat Lady, was gone. Without their guardian in the picture, Hermione was trapped outside.

"Now what am I going to do?" she said with a sigh.

Behind her she heard Ron say, "That's your problem," as he and Harry started down the corridor.

Hermione stood at the portrait, fuming. She could stay and wait for the Fat Lady to return. It seemed the most logical thing to do, but then an idea hit her.

There was a very good chance that Harry and Ron would get caught; she knew it. They'd get detention, or points taken, or some sort of punishment, but if she were with them… she knew enough spells and secrets about Hogwarts to keep them all out of trouble. She could see it now. They'd be walking down a hall, and Filch or his cat Mrs. Norris would spot them. Then Hermione would use some clever trick to avoid getting caught. Then maybe if she saved their necks, they'd bother to talk to her.

"Hermione that was great," she imagined Harry saying after they narrowly avoided detention. "We'd have been caught if it wasn't for your quick thinking. Ron and I would have never been able to do that. You're so amazing. I should never have listened to Ron and snuck out tonight anyway. You were right." She smiled to herself. Perhaps it wouldn't go quite that well but it was possible.

She spun on her heels and ran after them.

"I'm coming with you," she announced as she caught up with them.

As expected, Ron started in on her. "You are not!"

"Do you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me?" she asked him. "If he finds all three of us…" she quickly made up a fake excuse. "I'll tell him the truth: that I was trying to stop you and you can back me up." Hermione held back a smile as she watched Ron's eyes grow with shock and surprise. She liked pushing this boy's buttons. She wondered if that meant she had a sadistic side.

"You've got some nerve," he sputtered.

Another fight would have ensued if Harry hadn't shushed them both. "I heard something."

They crept slowly towards the noise. "Mrs. Norris?" Ron said breathlessly.

As it turned out, the noise was Neville's soft snoring. He'd been locked out of Gryffindor tower all night. "Why can't I have him for a roommate?" Hermione thought absentmindedly as Neville jerked awake, "he doesn't snore nearly as loud."

It was a group of four that now silently swept through the dark castle. Ron was fuming by now. Hermione was silently running through all the spells she could think of in anticipation of having to use one to get them out of a jam. Now that Neville was in the group, things could get tricky. He had a tendency of being clumsy.

"Where are we going?" Neville finally asked Hermione in a barely audible whisper as they headed up a flight of stairs.

"Ron and Harry challenged Malfoy to a wizards duel," she explained quietly so that the others couldn't hear her, "but Malfoy isn't really going to show up. Instead, Ron and Harry are going to get caught out of bed after curfew and get us all in trouble."

"Oh… I see… I think." Neville said slowly.

They'd reached the trophy room. It was the moment of truth. Hermione sighed as she watched Harry preparing for Malfoy's arrival. She knew they wouldn't have to wait long, and that it wouldn't be Malfoy arriving.

Sure enough, after several long minutes of waiting, they heard a noise in the other room. It came so suddenly that Hermione almost jumped out of her skin. It wasn't Filch, it wasn't Mrs. Norris, it was Filch and Mrs. Norris.

Harry started out the room quickly and quietly with the others in tow. They could hear Filch urging Mrs. Norris on. He was getting closer. Hermione began to think furiously. It was her time to shine, but how would she get the four of them out of this.

They were headed down a long corridor full of suits of armor. Then it came to her. Hogwarts had a lot of secret corridors and rooms, some of which still hadn't been discovered, but she'd read about a few of the more well known ones in "Ancient Magical Buildings and the Secrets They Hold." This corridor had a secret passageway behind a suit of armor they could escape through. They were getting close to it. All she needed to do was get the others to follow her.

She tapped on Neville's shoulder to get his attention but this was a big mistake. Neville was so jumpy that the moment he felt Hermione's touch he let out a squeal and started running. He tripped over Ron and they went toppling into the suit of armor just before the one rumored to be concealing the passage.

Hermione could have killed him for his stupidity. Instead of successfully sneaking away and her being a hero, they were forced to make a mad dash down the hall. She had no idea where they were going. It seemed that Harry's only plan was to get as far away from Filch as possible. At some point they went through another secret passageway behind a tapestry. Hermione was familiar with this one as well, but she had long since abandoned her plans of saving the day.

They stopped near their charms classroom. Hermione had never run so hard in her life and vaguely remembered why she hated gym at her former school. She was in a very bad mood now. "I told you," she started in on Harry. "Malfoy tricked you. You realize that don't you? He was never going to meet you. Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room. Malfoy must have tipped him off."

"This is the part where you say, 'You're right Hermione I should have listened to you,'" she added silently to herself, but she knew that wasn't coming.

Harry had a look that told her all too well that he knew she was dead right, but instead of admitting it he turned to Ron and said, "Let's go."

"One of these days, you're going to have to speak to me, Harry Potter." Hermione thought. "And it'll be more than just to tell me to sod off."

She was about to mentally tell off Harry some more but her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Peeves the resident Hogwarts poltergeist.

Upon seeing the foursome, he let out a squeal that was louder than the noise that Ron and Neville had made earlier when they crashed into the suit of armor.

"Shut up, Peeves, please," Harry pleaded. "You'll get us thrown out."

"Oh now he worries about getting thrown out." Hermione thought irritably. She knew how to handle the poltergeist. She'd read all about them in "Ghouls, Trolls, and Other Household Pests." She just needed her wand. Hermione reached inside her bathrobe and realized for the first time that she hadn't thought to bring her wand. She was about to ask Harry for his when Ron made the biggest mistake of the night. He tried to take a swipe at Peeves.

"Oh here we go!" Hermione thought as Peeves began to sound the alarm. They took off down the hall again until they reached a locked door.

Ron was trying desperately to open it, but it was spelled shut. "We're done for," he said frantically. "This is it." They heard the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer.

It was then that Hermione realized that this was her chance. This was the moment she had been waiting for, her chance to save the day.

Wasting no time, she pushed Ron out of the way, grabbed Harry's wand and pointed it at the lock. "Alohomora." The door opened. They raced inside and shut it quietly behind them.

Hermione smiled with self-satisfaction as she slipped Harry's wand back in his hand. She had done it. "Not exactly as I planned, but it worked. I proved how useful I can be." Now all she had to do was wait for Harry to congratulate her for her brilliance.

She turned around to take a good look at the room they were in and froze. They weren't in a room; they were in another corridor, a corridor with a three-headed dog, a three-headed dog that was so massive, it looked as if it could eat her in one bite. Hermione heard Neville whimpering beside her, but she was frozen in panic.

"Okay, Hermione, don't panic. It's a three headed dog, you should know something about this." But nothing came to mind. None of the books she had read including, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" had ever mentioned anything about giant three-headed dogs. She stared at it from heads to toe. It was standing on a trap door. Hermione did a double take.

"What's a trap door doing under a giant three-headed dog? Better yet, what is a giant three headed dog doing in a school. Did I miss some announcement about a giant three-headed dog? Why can't I move? I really really want to move or at least say something. I should say something. This isn't at all what I had planned. I was supposed to be saving us from detention, not getting us killed."

She felt Harry grab her arm as he toppled out the door. Apparently Neville had finally gotten his attention. Hermione didn't know. All she knew now was that she had to run, run as fast as she could away from the monstrous dog.

All in all, the night had turned out to be far worst than the previous day. Hermione was in a really bad mood now. She was glad to be back in the safety of the common room again, but she was also mad, mostly at herself for thinking it was a good idea to go gallivanting around the school in the middle of the night with the three stooges. Instead of being the hero for once, she was now the girl who almost got them killed. What a great way to be remembered.

Neville looked like he'd never recover from the shock but after a while Ron and Harry began discussing the giant dog, trying to figure out where it had come from and why it was there.

Hermione had finally had enough. She told them about the trap door. She had been the only one staring long enough to actually take in the entire scene. It was obvious that the dog was guarding something. She felt her temper rising and her ranting was definitely reflecting this, so she decided to head to bed before she got in another fight with Ron.

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves," she said to Ron as she stood. In her mind, this was still all his fault. "We could all have been killed, or worse, expelled." She realized too late that she had gotten the order wrong but she was too mad to care. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to bed." She stormed up the stairs, ignoring Ron's snide response.

"I'm never doing this again. Next time, I'll just let them get in trouble or killed by a giant three-headed dog. Being popular just isn't worth this kind of madness."

As if things hadn't gone badly enough, Hermione realized immediately when she entered her room that the silencing charm had worn off.

_A/N: Mostly just what happened in the Midnight Duel chapter of The Sorcerer's Stone._

_Leave a review, if you please._


	5. True Courage

_Chapter Summary: This introduces a new aspect of Hermione's life at Hogwarts (that I completely made up) about where she disappears off to when she needs some time alone. In addition, we get to see the battle with the troll from Hermione's point of view._

Ever since that close encounter with the three-headed dog, Hermione had kept her promise to herself to stay away from Harry and Ron. She felt really stupid for even trying to hang around with them before. What had she been thinking? Traipsing around the castle at all hours of the night in the vain hope that she might be able to save the day and make the famous Harry Potter like her. She'd never done anything that dumb in her entire life. What was it about Harry that made her even consider it?

Whatever it was, she knew that it was probably best for her sanity to stay away from him. It had been a whole month and she still hadn't made any friends at the school. It was getting cooler and she was getting lonely. Aside from Percy, Hermione did spend a lot of time with Neville Longbottom, but it was mostly to help him with potions class. Snape had taken an immense dislike to Neville who consistently messed up every assignment. It was all Hermione could do just to keep him from failing. Neville was of course very grateful for all of Hermione's help and kindness. At least he didn't think she was a bossy know-it-all. Snape had quickly caught on to this though and had banned Hermione from partnering Neville in potions class.

However, like Percy, Neville wasn't the kind of person Hermione wanted to open up to. Maybe she was just being picky. Or maybe, deep down inside she still wanted the chance to really talk with Harry without making a fool of herself or making him mad at her.

Hermione had taken to exploring the castle on her own during her free time. She needed to do something besides going to the library with Neville, and the castle was amazing.

One particular afternoon, she had found a secret passage that led to one of the high ramparts of the castle. It was actually a stroke of luck that let her stumble upon the stairwell up to the ramparts. She was walking down a hall near Gryffindor tower entrance completely engrossed in a book she was reading. She didn't realize that she had taken a wrong turn and after a few minutes she crashed into a stone statue. When she looked up, she saw part of the wall opening up behind the statue. Something she had touched on the statue had triggered it. It was only large enough for her to crawl through at first, but after a few minutes, the passageway opened up to a huge staircase.

After a few minutes of climbing, she'd reached a trap door. This one was locked but a quick "alohomora" charm solved that problem. She pushed the door open and was met with a beautiful sight as she ascended onto the ramparts. From up here, she could see the Quidditch field, the forbidden forest, and far beyond. A cool breeze flowed through her hair as she looked all around.

She realized how perfect this place was. Hopefully no one else knew about it, and that meant she could get away from the crowd and noise of the common room whenever she wanted and just come here to relax. She found out that the way to open the passageway was to kick the statue in the shin. After that, she went up to this secluded spot almost every day.

It was particularly nice to go up during the cool autumn evenings and watch the various house quidditch teams practicing. She was close enough to see what was going on but far enough away that nobody noticed her sitting on the castle wall. Harry was of course practicing with the Gryffindor team. He was an amazing flyer and Hermione could see that he would make a great seeker. Watching him fly was like poetry in motion… but it was still unfair. She couldn't understand why they would bend the rules just for him. She had even gone to Professor McGonagall and voiced her concern about it, but the head of Gryffindor house had her heart set on winning the Quidditch Cup and couldn't be persuaded otherwise.

A few weeks after her night adventure with Harry, Ron, and Neville, Hermione was up on the ramparts watching the Gryffindor house team practice and also reading a new book she had found in the library that dealt with alchemy. It was the night before Halloween and she was looking forward to the upcoming feast. As the last rays of sunlight began to fade, she was just about to leave when something behind her startled her.

"Enjoying the show?" Hermione whirled around. It was Fred, another one of the Weasleys, sitting on his broom. Apparently, she had been wrong about not being able to be seen from the quidditch field.

"Oh you scared me," she said nervously. "What are you doing up here?"

"I should ask you the same thing," Fred quipped. He climbed off of his broom and stood on the ramparts. "I thought you didn't break school rules. You wouldn't want one of the professor's catching you up here." Hermione opened her mouth to answer but Fred just laughed. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your little secret. To be honest, George and I found that hidden passage behind the statue years ago. We just never used it because it didn't lead anywhere useful. Glad to see you've found a use for it though."

It seemed that every member of the Weasley family was nice except for Ron.

"I honestly didn't think anyone could see me all the way up here," Hermione admitted.

"Well to be honest, I really couldn't see you. In fact no one could, 'cept for Harry."

"Harry?"

"Yup, he's the one who pointed you out to me and George. I guess that should be expected. He's got the eyesight of a seeker, that's for sure. He was wondering what you were doing up here. He'd come and see himself, but Wood won't let him out of his sight during practice. Not for a second."

"What?" Hermione's heart gave a jolt. Harry would have really come to her to see what she was doing? He would say something?

She knew Fred and George were renowned practical jokers and wondered if this was one of them.

But Fred just shrugged. "I dunno, I just said I'd do the relay."

"Well if he wants to talk to me, he can do it himself," Hermione said haughtily. " He's got a broom doesn't he? He could fly up here after practice."

"Sheeze, don't kill the messenger." Fred said hopping back on his broom. "I'm just doing the bloke a favor." He flew off.

Hermione sighed as she reflected on the brief conversation. Why did Harry want to bother with her? It didn't make any sense. He had plenty of opportunities to talk to her before hand and never did. What was different now? It was probably the fact that Ron wasn't around. He probably figured it'd be okay to talk to the unpopular girl if he wasn't seen by anyone he knew. Maybe, he felt guilty about the way he had been treating her. Well she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of clearing his conscience while no one was looking. If he wanted to talk to her, he could do it in front of the other Gryffindors.

Still… it was nice knowing that Harry Potter actually noticed her...

"Ugh… he treats me like dirt for weeks and I melt just at the thought of talking to him. I'm almost as lame as Parvati." She headed towards the trap door.

"Ooo, he's looking over here," Lavender squealed.

Hermione had joined Lavender and Parvati at the table in the common room they were using for studying. Obviously, Hermione had already spent a great deal of time studying earlier that day on the ramparts. This was just another attempt to maintain good relationship with her roommates.

Lavender and Parvati weren't really studying though; they were reveling over Parvati's most recent attempt to get in Harry's good graces. During their last Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Parvati had shown off her knowledge of Harry's claim to fame.

Hermione mentally recalled some of the more memorable moments of Parvati's speech. "And because of the amazing and mysterious powers that Harry Potter possessed, he was able to, as a small baby, defeat the greatest dark wizard of all times." Hermione had almost gagged when she heard that and Harry had looked like he was sinking in quicksand.

"I think he was really impressed with you," Lavender was saying now. "You're so lucky."

Hermione lowered the book she was reading and looked in the direction they were pointing. Harry was indeed looking right at their table, but not at her. He was looking more at Partvati and Lavender, who were both giggling so loudly, it must have been annoying him.

"Hermione, are you listening to me?" Lavender pressed.

"Huh," Hermione said coming back to reality.

"I swear girl, you read too much. You're going to fry your brain. I was saying that you need to watch out for Ron. I overheard him telling Harry at lunch that he wished there was a way that he and Harry could get you to help them with their schoolwork."

"Fat chance," Hermione scoffed. "I'd rather hear you snore."

"What?"

Hermione caught herself. "Nothing. I'm just saying there's nothing Ron Weasley could say or do that would make me want to help them."

Lavender shrugged. "Well, I'm just saying he seemed to be cooking up some scheme."

So that's what was going on. That was why Harry suddenly decided he wanted to talk to her that evening. Be nice to the smart unpopular girl so you can get what you want. She felt like she was in a bad muggle teen movie. Well she wasn't going to fall for it. Ron and Harry would have to find some other gullible genius girl to con because it wouldn't be her, and Parvati and Lavender certainly didn't qualify… for the genius part at least. She picked up her books and marched purposely up the stairs to her dorm.

Hermione didn't know whether to be angry or amused.

On the one hand, for some odd reason that she couldn't understand, Professor Flitwick the Charms teacher had paired her, class genius, with Ron, class clown, for their levitation lesson. She wondered vaguely if this was another one of Harry's tricks to get Hermione to warm up to them so she could help them with their classes. She figured if anyone could persuade a professor to do what they wanted it was the famous Harry Potter.

On the other hand, Ron's stupidity had reached an all time high in Hermione's opinion. She suppressed a grin as she watched Ron smack poke and prod the feather they were supposed to make float, shouting the magic words completely wrong.

Her grin faded slowly. Suddenly, an idea came to her. What if she helped him like he wanted in the first place? Then maybe he'd like her, and then of course, Harry, being his puppet, would adjust to her too. She would make two friends in one day. She had been going about this the wrong way all along. After all, Ron was the more difficult of the two, and if Harry grew to like her, and Ron didn't, then there wouldn't be much of a point since Harry seemed to go along with whatever Ron did.

The idea was both logical, and absurd. Seeing as Ron did nothing but make her feel horrible since the day she stepped on the Hogwarts Express. But now, here he was having trouble with charms. Her specialty. He needed help. Maybe if she was extra friendly he would realize she wasn't as annoying and terrible as he thought.

" That was brilliant Hermione!" She imagined him saying. " You really are the best witch in our year. I was wrong about you."

She was thinking this as she watched him flap his arms around a bit longer and then finally stopped him. "You're saying it wrong," she said as she tried to demonstrate the right way to do the spell.

Hermione quickly found out that Ron wasn't the teachable type. "You do it then, if you're so clever."

So she did. "Wingardium Leviosa." The feather began to float.

She turned and smiled at Ron in a way that she hoped was more friendly than smug as Professor Flitwick praised her in front of the class. "See, I told you," she said, wincing at how rude she sounded. Ron looked annoyed.

"You're such a know-it-all," Ron said seething.

Oh no! This wasn't how it was supposed to go! He was supposed to like her now! Hermione began to feel angry. Why couldn't he understand that she wanted to be friends with him!

Actually, this hadn't occurred to Hermione either until this very moment.

Maybe all along she had hated Ron Weasley because she secretly liked him. But that wasn't logical. It made no sense. Ron was always making her angry. She decided that even if she did want to be friends with him before, that now it was completely out of the question. She found herself hating him all over again.

"You'll have to do a lot better than that, you stupid git." Hermione countered. "Besides, that's not a good way to treat someone you're trying to get tutoring from."

"Tutoring, from you?" Ron scoffed. "I'd rather be dropped in the middle of the Forbidden Forest with ten of those three-headed dogs after me."

"You're just jealous because I'm at the top of our class and you can barely scrape bottom."

"Well if having good grades means I can't have any friends and I have to be hated by everyone, then I think I'll pass, thank you."

Hermione opened her mouth but then shut it again. Her head was swarming. She couldn't believe that he had the nerve to say that to her. What did he know? He was nothing but a stupid, worthless…

She wasn't giving up friendships for grades was she? It wasn't wrong to want to make something of herself, to be the best witch she could be, to graduate from Hogwarts in seven years with everything she needed to get a good job and… and would it all be worth it if she were miserable doing it? Was she really despised by all of her classmates?

She was so numb, she barely heard Flitwick dismissing them from class. She gathered her bags and rushed hastily from the classroom. She just needed to go somewhere and think. Maybe up to her secret place where she could be alone. Her heart skipped.

Harry and Ron were talking just in front of her.

Even after Ron said all of those horrible things about her in class, she still felt some sort of an attachment to these boys. Hermione thought she really shouldn't. All they cared about was themselves. Harry, trying to be nice to her to get her to do their work. Ron, making her so mad with the things he did and said. Not to mention they both ignored her practically all of the time.

Maybe instead of waiting around for them to talk to her she should go and talk to them, she thought. That could be the problem. They just didn't know that she actually liked them. If they did, they might think differently about her.

With these thoughts in mind, she sped up a little so that she was close to directly behind them. She was about to reach up and tap Harry's shoulder.

Suddenly she drew back. What would she say to them? She stopped in her tracks to think. As far as she knew, they didn't have anything in common. She liked studying and reading. All they would do was talk about qudditch and play wizards chess. They would stay up late in the common room doing homework that they were too lazy to do during the day. And they were nearly always talking in some corner together about something that seemed serious. Ron probably knew all about Harry's life with the muggles he lived with, she thought sadly.

Were they so close that there would never be any room for her to come in? She couldn't think of a thing to say to them. Well she thought about telling them about the book she got out of the library that she was reading last night on magic laws of the 1200's, but she didn't think that would interest them much. She needed something that would make them actually think of her as more than just a know-it-all.

They were so far ahead of her now she could hardly see them, so she ran until they were back in view and followed at walking speed.

If they do think I'm nothing about a know-it-all, she thought. Maybe I should show them that I'm also a person. She gave a deep breath.

It was decided then. She would wing it. Just tell them that she wanted to start over and start to act more human. Not forsaking her studies, of course, just trying to be more like them. Laid back. Not so obsessed with grades.

Yes that's what she'd do.

Nervously, she ran up behind them, for the second time to tap Harry's shoulder. Suppose they thought her attempt to be friends with them, pathetic? Or Ron's still mad at her from Charms class? Or they all become friends, then she starts rambling and makes them hate her all over again?

No, she thought. Don't think like that, Hermione. Remember what mum said? If I keep on like this I'm sure to start rambling. Don't think, just go for it.

It was a hard thing for her to do, not to think. Thinking was who she was after all. But she cleared her mind as she stepped up behind Harry and Ron. Go for it...

She could hear bits of their conversation. She stopped in her tracks when she realized that they were talking about her.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her," Ron was telling his friend. "She's a nightmare, honestly."

Hermione felt her eyes watering. All of her plans of patching things up with them came crashing around her. She just couldn't take it anymore. Every time she wanted to be nice to them, something just had to go wrong! Why did Ron and Harry have to talk about her behind her back when she wanted so much to get to know them? The stupid gits!

She ran off towards the nearest bathroom before anyone could catch her crying.. a few minutes later Hermione crashed through the door of the second floor bathroom. Padma and Parvati Patil were already there. If she hadn't been so upset, she'd have wondered how the two girls got there ahead of her. Parvati was in her charm's class only a few minutes ago and who knew where Padma had been previously. The only logical explanation was that the twins had previously agreed to meet there, but Hermione didn't care about this. She quickly ran to one of the stalls, locked herself in, and closing the toilet seat, slumping down on it to cry her eyes out.

She hadn't been fast enough. "Hermione?" she heard Parvati call. "Is that you? What's wrong?"

Hermione was trying not to cry but she couldn't help it. "Nothing! Nothing's wrong!"

Parvati knocked on the stall door. "Come on Hermione, whatever it is, I'm sure you'll feel better just talking about it."

"No I won't." Hermione snapped, "just leave me alone."

"Come on," she heard Padma whisper to her twin. "We should just let her have some time to herself. Besides, she won't be late to her next class, you know that."

"Oh… alright." Parvati finally agreed, and they left the bathroom.

But Hermione had no intention of coming out, not for her next class, not even for the grand Halloween feast that the school was having that night. For the first time since she'd come to Hogwarts, all she wanted to do was go home. She had cried for at least an hour on and off, and she had finally come to her decision. She was going to leave school. She couldn't take it anymore. She was miserable and friendless and she didn't know what to do about it . For all her knowledge, she couldn't figure out a way to make friends.

Why didn't Harry and Ron like her? Sure she had threatened to tell when they disregarded the rules, and she was a know-it-all but so what? Was that a good reason for how they treated her? Harry would barely say two words to her and he always had this pained/irritated expression on his face whenever they were in the same room. Ron just plain hated her. They obviously gossiped a lot about her when she wasn't around.. Ron thought she was a nightmare. What else did he say to Harry about her?

"What's wrong with me?" she chastised herself. "Why can't I just be like everyone else? Why can't I be like Parvati or Lavender so people would like me? Why do I have to be a brainy little know-it-all who nobody can stand? Is my whole life going to be like this?"

It had been a month since she came to Hogwarts, and everybody, it seemed had already found a best friend but her. Not just Parvati and Lavender, and Harry and Ron, but everyone in Gryffindor tower. Even Neville Longbottom was on good terms with best friends Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas.

She vaguely wondered if there was some sort of spell or potion that could permanently change her personality. Or maybe she would have to go to school in Japan; she'd read somewhere that they took education far more seriously than the rest of the world.

"This is stupid," she said getting off the toilet and opening the stall. "I'll just go to McGonagall right now and tell her I've decided to leave Hogwarts and that I would be taking the train home tomorrow… what is that smell?"

She heard the bathroom door open and something lumber inside. She peered around the stall door and saw something that almost made her heart stop. It was a troll, a massive, ugly, smelly, long-armed, fat-legged mountain troll with a giant club and it was staring straight at her, a dim look in its eyes.

Hermione gulped, but tried to keep her wits about her. If she could just make it to the door, then she'd be safe. Trolls were slow and stupid. It wouldn't be able to keep up with a student running at top speed, but then to her horror, something slammed the bathroom door shut and she heard the lock click shut. She was trapped. Her wand was still in her bag in the stall, which now seemed a thousand feet away. She knew if she made any sudden moves she was done for.

She backed up slowly until she hit the wall. The massive troll took a few steps forward, raising its heavy club. Every muscle in Hermione's body seemed to lock up, she couldn't move, she couldn't think. She couldn't do anything. It was just as it had been with the three-headed dog. She was petrified with fear. She let out a shrill scream as the troll stormed closer punching holes in the stalls and sinks as it went.

Then suddenly, someone burst into the bathroom. It was Harry and Ron. Hermione didn't know how or why they were there, but she was glad that she wasn't alone any more.

"You know, every time I'm in a life threatening situation, these two are with me. Then again, I've only been in two life threatening situations so far so I guess that's hardly a correlation. Then again, the last time this happened, it was Ron's fault. So I bet this is Ron's fault too. Maybe he's the one who locked the door, probably thought it was funny. Wait a minute; what am I saying? They're saving my life, I should be grateful. Oh geez, I'm rambling again. Why can't I move? Come on Hermione do something!"

She felt something pulling at her, and vaguely realized it was Harry. He had a desperate look on his face. He was shouting something but she couldn't hear him. It was like someone had hit the mute button on a muggle television. She tried to will herself to move, but she couldn't. Her body just wasn't taking orders from her mind anymore.

Then Harry left her side. "He's not going to just leave me here is he?" she thought to herself.

But Harry wasn't leaving; instead he jumped on the troll from behind, ramming his wand up its nose. He was trying to stop it from killing them all.

"He really is brave," Hermione thought as the troll tried to sling Harry off. It was going to kill him if someone didn't do something, but what could she do, she was a witch without a wand and to top things off, her body wouldn't even move. She was completely useless.

But then Ron pulled out his wand and pointed it at the troll. She heard him yell, "Wingardium Leviosa." He'd finally said it right and in response, the troll's club floated from its hands and came crashing down on its head. The beast dropped to the ground. It was over. Ron had done it, though by the look on his face even he was surprised.

Hermione finally got her voice back and asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Is it… dead?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't think so. I think it's just been knocked out." He bent down to retrieve his wand, which was still in the troll's nose.

Suddenly, several more people had burst into the bathroom. McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell were there now looking at the unconscious troll and the three of them. McGonagall had a look of pure anger in her eyes, a look that Hermione had rarely seen. She knew instantly that they were all in trouble.

"I could have been killed. I'm supposed to be the best witch in my grade, but I couldn't do a thing about this troll. I mean, it's not like I haven't read about them. I know all of their weaknesses and a half dozen spells to slow them down but I couldn't do a thing because I was so afraid, so petrified. Harry and Ron don't know half as much as I do about trolls but they were brave and selfless. They risked their lives for me. Harry's bravery was more than enough to allow him to defeat a troll. I guess that's what makes him such a good wizard." Hermione realized just how wrong she had been about the famous Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, how wrong she'd been about a lot of other things.

McGonagall was still going off on Harry and Ron. She had to do something. If Harry and Ron were brave enough to put their lives on the line for her, then she should at least face McGonagall's wrath for them.

"Please Professor McGonagall, they were looking for me." She managed to stand, though her legs still felt like jelly. "I went looking for the troll because I thought I could deal with it on my own. You know, because I read all about them." That sounded like a plausible story. It was the sort of thing she probably would have done had she known there was a troll lurking about. "If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now," she admitted sincerely. "Harry stuck his wand up it's nose, and Ron knocked it out with it's own club. They didn't have time come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived." She knew very well that if the story had come from anyone else but her, McGonagall wouldn't have believed it.

She also knew that if it had been anyone else but her telling the story, the punishment would have been far worse. As it was though, McGonagall gave her a good scolding and took five points from Gryffindor. Then she sent Hermione back to Gryffindor tower, which she was more than glad to do. She bolted up two flights of stairs and ran down corridors until she was once again standing in front of the portrait of the fat lady.

"Pigs snout," she panted and the portrait door flew open.

She was safe inside the common room once again. All of the Gryffindors were sitting around eating the remainder of the Halloween feast but Hermione didn't move to join them. Her mind was still racing with a million thoughts. She still couldn't believe what had happened. She had been saved by Harry Potter and not because he was smarter or knew the right spells or anything like that, but because he was reckless, and brave, and relentless. If the tables had been turned and Harry was counting on her to save him, would she have been able to do it? She didn't know the answer.

Suddenly, Ron and Harry were climbing through the portrait hole. Hermione couldn't even look at them. She muttered a "thanks," and heard them say the same to her. She had no idea what they could be thanking her for except for perhaps warding off McGonagall's wrath, but how could saving someone's life be compared with keeping someone from getting a detention?

The two boys walked passed her to the common room, and she followed still numb but vaguely realizing how hungry she was. She grabbed some food and plopped down beside Lavender and Parvati.

"Are you… okay?" Parvati asked timidly.

"Uh…" Hermione barely heard the question as she ate.

She looked across the common room and saw that Harry was looking at her. When she caught his eye, he smiled at her. She gave a weak smile back before stuffing the baked potato she was eating back into her mouth. She didn't know what Harry was thinking but she hoped that his smile was an indication that he didn't hate her as much as before. Hermione finished eating quickly, and rushed up to her dorm, once again choosing to go to bed early rather than sit awkwardly in the common room.

As she dropped down on her bed, Hermione decided that she would talk to Harry tomorrow. And Ron, too if he'd let her. She'd apologize to them for all of the things she'd said and done. Maybe after this life altering experience, they really could bury the hatchet and start fresh. Or maybe, he'd never want to speak to her again. Either way, she had to try talking to him, but not now. Her stomach was doing summer-saults and she couldn't think clearly. She knew that she'd say something stupid and for once she wanted to avoid that. For once she would spend a long time thinking before she spoke.

_A/N: This was a very emotional chapter for Hermione wasn't it? It wasn't exactly like the book, but I wanted to reflect more on Hermione's thoughts. The only thing Ms. Rowling said was that they became friends after the incident. It'll happen, all right, but in a more detailed manned. Tell me what you thought. Review._


	6. Starting Over

Chapter Summary: In the story, after the battle with the troll it just alludes to the fact that Harry, Ron and Hermione become instant friends. Then it basically skips to the quidditch match. I think it took a little more time then just the three seconds standing at the portrait entrance. So this goes into a little more detail of how the friendship developed.

Hermione purposely avoided Harry the next day. She knew she needed to talk to him, and she really wanted to talk to him, but she just couldn't. She could feel him looking at her in classes but refused to look back. She thought about trying to talk to him after dinner, but for the first time in her life, she couldn't think of anything to say. So instead, she decided to disappear for a while. She went up to her hiding place on the ramparts to think and read. None of the Quidditch teams were practicing that night so she knew for sure that she wouldn't be seen by anyone.

As she read, random thoughts swirled through her head. "How stupid must I have looked, cowering against the bathroom wall? I'm sure glad they didn't tell anyone what happened. It would have been all over school by now if they had. Pansy would have had a field day. If it had been anyone else, they would have bragged about how they saved the 'know-it-all' witch. I guess you can't judge a book by its cover, that's for sure. Harry is a better wizard than I'll ever be because he has the courage I lack. It's one thing to have the brain of a wizard, it's another thing to have the heart of one and Harry definitely has the…"

" This sure is a strange place to read," said a voice behind her interrupting her thoughts. Hermione didn't need to turn around to know the owner of the voice. It was Harry Potter.

She didn't move.

"You know," Harry continued stepping onto the ramparts from his Nimbus 2000 racing broom. " You know, the common room is just as accessible and a lot warmer."

Hermione still didn't say anything. She didn't even put her book down. It was like she was frozen again.

She heard Harry huff. "Are you going to just keep ignoring me? I mean first you don't speak to me because we almost got killed after sneaking out of Gryffindor Tower, which by the way I'd like to point out that we didn't drag you along. Then you don't speak to me because I was made the Gryffindor team seeker. Now you're not speaking to me because… I saved your life yesterday? Can't I get a break? I mean I know you hate me but if we're going to be in the same house for seven years we should at least be…"

"That's not true!" Hermione blurted out. She dropped the book she was reading and stood to face him.

"Huh?"

"I don't hate you; why would you think that?" Hermione asked looking scandalized. "I mean, sure I wasn't talking to you because of what happened, and yes, I overreacted a little, but I don't hate you. I never have. Or Ron, even."

"Oh." Harry sat down on the castle wall. A long awkward silence followed as both of them thought of something to say.

"What about you?" Hermione asked finally.

"Me what?"

"Do you hate me?" She knew it was a loaded question, but hoped he'd be honest anyway.

"No, of course not," Harry answered hastily. "I don't think I hate anyone; well except for maybe Snape, and Malfoy. I mean you can be a bit bossy sometimes, and haughty, and a know-it-all."

Hermione wondered where he was going with this.

"But I mean, you are the smartest witch in our class. I wish I knew as much as you did when I came to Hogwarts. If you only knew how afraid I was of being the worst wizard in my year."

"Me too," Hermione added absentmindedly.

Harry laughed. "Really? If it weren't for the fact that you were a first year, you'd be Head Girl."

Hermione could feel herself turning red. Well since she'd already admitted it. "Well, I was so scared of not fitting in, you know, because I'm a muggle-born, I just started reading everything I could about the wizarding world. I figured that if I knew as much as every other witch and wizard at Hogwarts I'd fit in. Of course, as usual, I overdid it. But I mean, I just wanted to make a good impression and be the best I could be. I was so sick of people treating me like I didn't belong. I mean after the train ride when Pansy Parkinson was treating me like I had some sort of disease just because I have muggle parents and Ron treating me like an idiot, I guess I just wanted to prove to everyone that I am a witch and that I belong at Hogwarts and in Gryffindor."

Harry was staring at her, a mixture of confusion and shock on his face.

"Sorry," Hermione said looking down. "I know I ramble a lot. I can't help it."

"No it's not that," Harry laughed. "I mean it's that too, but I was just thinking that I felt kind of the same way when I first found out. I didn't know anything about the wizarding world and then I find out that I'm famous. It was almost too much to handle. Everyone thinks I'm special, but I'm not."

"But that's not true," Hermione thought to herself. "He doesn't even know how different he really is."

"But you never treated me like 'the famous Harry Potter,'" he continued. "I mean, even though we rubbed each other the wrong way, at least I knew you were reacting to me and not 'Harry Potter.'"

"Well…" Hermione shook her head slowly. "That's not entirely true."

"Oh really…" He seemed genuinely surprised. "I would have thought you were the last person to be caught up in appearances. I mean I've seen how nice you are to Neville. Everyone makes fun of him for being a klutz, but you don't. I guess I understand why you were so mad about me getting on the house team. You want everyone to be held to the same set of standards, but a lot of times it seems like that doesn't happen with me."

"But it's not your fault," Hermione said quickly. "I mean, you can't help it that people treat you differently, and that everyone knows your name, and that you're in a dozen books. I mean, you're practically a muggle-born like me, growing up thinking magic was just something on television or in dreams. Then it's like your world's turned upside down."

Harry gave her a half grin.

Hermione blushed again. "I know… I know… I'm rambling. I'm sorry." She plopped down on the ground again.

"No it's not that," Harry jumped off the wall. "You just described it perfectly. I always try to tell Ron how I feel about things around here, but he grew up in a wizarding family and hearing about Harry Potter and sometimes, he just doesn't see things the way I do. But you described it perfectly. It's exactly how I felt when I came here. The only thing that's really kept me sane is…" Harry trailed off. There was silence again. Then he took a seat beside her and started again. "You know, in a way it was only chance that Ron and I became good friends. I met him and his family on the train to Hogwarts. He was the first person I really talked to. I bet if it had been you that I met first on the train we would have become friends too."

"Really?" Hermione was shocked that he had expressed the same thing she had been thinking for weeks. "I think so too, I mean, when I actually did meet you on the train it was after being in a compartment with Pansy."

Harry shuddered. "How did you survive?"

"Only just barely," Hermione laughed. "By the time I met you and Ron, I was in such a foul temper that I probably came on pretty strong. It didn't help that Ron was making fun of me with that stupid fake spell of his though."

It was Harry's turn to laugh. "Oh that! He wasn't trying to make fun of you. He actually thought it was a spell his brothers had given him to change the color of his rat. You know how Fred and George are."

"Really!" Hermione was shocked. "And all this time, I thought he was being a stupid git, you know, messing with the muggle-born witch."

They laughed about this for a while.

"It was always Ron that rubbed me the wrong way really. I mean, I know he's your best friend, but he's always got the most hair-brained schemes. First the wizard's duel and then convincing you to warm up to me so that you two could get help on your homework. I just wish you didn't go along with everything he said."

Harry went quiet again. Hermione figured she had overstepped her bounds, talking about his best friend. "Ugh, I should have just kept my mouth shut."

"I didn't try to talk to you the other day to trick you into helping us with homework." Harry said quietly, and with a trace of resentment. "I mean, I admit, Ron did bring the subject up at one point, but it was a joke. I don't even know how you heard about that. Is that what you thought?"

Hermione squirmed. "Well I…"

" I just wanted to clear the air. I didn't think it made any sense us going around not speaking to each other, like we're in some stupid fight… and as for Ron…"

Hermione winced, waiting for him to lash out at her.

"It's true, he's my best friend and he sticks by me and that's all that matters… but you're right, he does come up with some weird ideas every now and again." He smiled.

Hermione sighed. "Ron practically told me yesterday that I shouldn't put academics in front of friendship. I think he was right for once. I've had my priorities messed up. You and Ron had it right all along; friendship is more important. I just hope it's not too late, you know, to make some friends."

Harry nodded. "I think you'll be okay. You're not as bad as you make people think you are"

"I'm not trying to make people think I'm unapproachable. It just comes out that way. It's really hard for me to open up to people. Then of course whenever I get really nervous I start rambling and talking about facts from books I've read and I know it seems really weird and people want me to shut up and believe me, even I want me to shut up most of the time, but I just can't help it. It's like I just start talking and I can't stop and…"

Harry made a face, and she realized she was doing just that. Oops. "I got it." He laughed again to let Hermione know that it was okay. "So let me ask you something."

"What?"

"Why did you open up to me just now?"

Hermione shrugged. "You're just different."

Harry sighed. "Story of my life."

"Oh no I didn't mean it like that," she said hastily. "I just knew all along that I'd be able to talk to you about this. I mean we have some things in common, both coming from muggle families. I just could never work up the courage to actually try. I was too afraid of making an idiot of myself."

"That's funny," Harry said with a smirk. "As I recall, you didn't have much of a problem telling me off the night we snuck out to meet Malfoy, which you were right about, by the way," he added casually. "Guess we should have listened, eh?"

"He said it!" Hermione could have jumped for joy right there, but decided to keep it internalized. "Like I said, every time I talked to you I felt like I was digging a deeper hole for myself. If I had been nicer or not have babbled so much or something then maybe I would have had the courage to try to really get to know you instead of always trying to be a bossy, know-it-all around you. I'm beginning to find out though that courage definitely isn't one of my strong points though, if last night was any indication. If you hadn't been there…"

"It was just dumb luck," Harry said hastily. "We didn't even know you were in there. If we had, we certainly wouldn't have locked the door."

"So that was you," Hermione said pensively. "Well anyway, it wasn't just dumb luck, it was courage. The courage I didn't have. I was so petrified. I couldn't even think."

"I'm just really glad we got to you in time." Harry said.

Hermione turned to him. The look in his eyes told her that the thought of not getting there in time scared him.

She knew she shouldn't be, but she was really flattered that Harry cared that much. "I know I should be grateful you two were breaking rules but still, it was really dangerous of you two to go looking for that troll last night."

Harry rolled his eyes, sighed, and then mimicked her disapproving look. "You really do assume too much, Hermione. We weren't looking for the troll. Do you think we're stupid? We were looking for you."

Hermione's eyes grew wide. "You… you were?" But why?"

"I knew that you had been locked in the girls' bathroom all evening. You better thank Parvati for having a big mouth. When Quirrell announced that there was a troll in the castle, I knew that there was know way you'd know and so we snuck away from Percy to go find you."

Hermione felt her eyes tearing up. "You mean after all of the mean things I said about you and Ron, well mostly Ron, you still cared enough to risk your lives to come looking for me when this whole thing is all my fault. If I hadn't been so stubborn and haughty and bigheaded, none of this would have happened. All I wanted to do was come to Hogwarts and make some friends and be happy but instead I just made trouble for the people I really wanted to be friends with. I'm so sorry I put you through all of this." Harry didn't say anything, but watched her with a slight frown.

" You wanted to be friends with us?" He said. Hermione nodded, embarrassed. " Yes. But as I said, I'm no good at making friends and I went about it the wrong way. All I did was annoy you guys. Really, I may seem bossy and I may know just a little too much, but I can be a good friend to you. I really think I can, if you'll give me the chance. I've never had a friend before, so I don't really know for sure, but I'm sure I can be..." She stopped when she noticed she was rambling again.

Hermione wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. She noticed that Harry looked stunned. She guessed that he wasn't expecting her to be that emotional. "I'm such a girl," she chastised herself mentally.

"I tell you what," Harry said as he stood. "We'll start over. How about that?"

Hermione looked up at him. "What?"

"Like I said, if things had been different, then we probably wouldn't be here." Harry helped her up. "It's not too late to start over."

"But what about Ron?" Hermione asked, confused and worried. From the looks of things, Ron really disliked her. What if it effected her new friendship with Harry? " I don't think he likes me a bit." She said sadly.

Harry shrugged. "He'll come around. I actually think he likes you." Hermione scoffed at that. " Yeah right." She said, but then she was smiling. "Well hey, if you help him with his homework then I know he'll come around." Harry laughed.

"That's not funny, Harry Potter." Hermione said, gathering her books, but she was laughing too.

Harry went back to the castle wall and started to climb on his broom. "I'll see you back in the common room. I should probably get some work done. You know how Snape is if our potions assignments aren't perfect."

Hermione gave him a quizzical look. "You know, you don't have to fly down. You can go down the trap door with me. That way you'll see how to get up here."

Harry grinned from ear to ear. "No thanks. You should keep this place a secret. How are you going to get any peace and quiet if you've got me and Ron up here with you?"

"And if you get caught, flying around so close to curfew?" Hermione scolded light-heartedly.

"I'll just tell them I was out doing some extra quidditch practice. They'll believe me. I'm the famous Harry Potter remember?" and with that, he took off down the side of the castle.

"You sure are…" Hermione said with a grin. She turned and headed for the trap door feeling like a huge weight had been taken from her.

A/N: Lo and behold, how they really became friends. Review.


	7. The Deal

Chapter Summary: More of the developing friendship between Ron, Hermione, and Harry… and how Hermione's roommates react to the sudden change.

Hermione looked up from her book when the portrait swung open. Harry was entering. She hadn't actually been reading "Great Wizarding Events of the 20th Century," she just didn't want to look like she was waiting for Harry to arrive, even though she really was. It had only taken her five minutes to make it back to the common room from her hiding place up on the ramparts, but it took Harry 30 minutes to arrive. She suspected that he couldn't help spending some extra time on his Nimbus 2000.

Harry immediately headed up to his dormitory without any acknowledgement to Hermione or anyone else in the common room. Ron was nowhere to be seen so she assumed he was up in the dormitory as well.

She put the book back in front of her face and pretended to read again; a little disappointed that Harry hadn't come to sit with her or even just wave at her. Even after their talk a half-hour ago, she still felt a little nervous in his presence around the other Gryffindors. In the back of her head, she wondered how open he would be out their friendship. After all, she still was only barely tolerated by her housemates and disliked by most of her other classmates.

"Maybe if I hang out with Harry, I'll be more popular," she thought absentmindedly. "I can't believe I just thought that! I'm not going to use my friendship with Harry to be popular. He's just another person like everyone else and it shouldn't matter that he's considered famous. But I guess it does even if I don't want it to. Being closer with him is going to automatically make me more liked by some people and hated by others, but I guess that would be kind of the same with anyone you're friends with, but on a smaller level. Then again, I'm still assuming he'll even want to be seen with me in public, maybe the only time I'll get to talk to him is when I go up on the…"

"So you don't have any homework left I'm guessing?" Harry had plopped down in the chair in front of her. He dropped a few books on the table they were sharing.

Hermione's mouth dropped as she watched Harry busying himself with pulling supplies from his bag. Without any warning or preamble, he had just come and sat with her as if it were the most common thing for him to do. Hermione looked slowly around at the others in the room, from behind her large book. She noticed that many of them, especially Parvati and Lavender looked just as shocked as she felt.

"Harry," Hermione hissed. "People are staring at us."

Harry didn't look up from the book he was reading. "I'm used to it. You should have seen it when I was in Diagon Alley."

Hermione thought about this. She remembered the first week that Harry was at school, all the stares he would get when he walked down the hall. He had to be used to people staring at him by now, especially those trying to get a look at his scar.

"Where's Ron," she asked switching subjects.

"He'll be down in a bit. He said something about looking for his potions book."

"Did you tell him… that we're talking?"

"Nope." Harry said still engrossed in his book.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Do you really think that was wise?"

Harry finally looked up, "Hermione you worry too much. You've got to loosen up."

"And how would you purpose I do that?" Hermione huffed.

Harry gave her a half grin. "Well I'd start by working on your sense of humor."

Hermione was about to tell him that she didn't think there was anything wrong with her sense of humor but at that moment Ron arrived.

"Oy, I see you're speaking to us now," Ron said, plopping down beside Harry. "Finally given in, eh?"

"I'm speaking to Harry," Hermione said haughtily. "I haven't made up my mind about you yet."

"Still high and mighty Hermione, I see." Ron said as he pulled some things from his bag. "You'd think almost getting killed by a troll would loosen you up a bit."

"What is it with everyone and me loosening up?"

"It's a conspiracy, I tell you," Harry laughed.

"No, this school work is a conspiracy," Ron sighed as he stacked books on the table. "An essay in every class; what are our teachers playing it? It's lunacy. This is no way to start the weekend."

"You're telling me," Harry said. "I still haven't gotten the one for McGonagall done yet. She wants, 2 ½ feet. That's way too much."

"Really?" Hermione said. "I've already done it. I have 3 feet."

Ron and Harry shared a look that made it all too clear that this didn't surprise them.

"Well since you're already done, maybe you can help me make sense of this assignment Snape gave us," Ron asked hopefully.

Hermione thought about this for a second. Then an idea jumped into her head, the kind of idea that once again made her wonder if she had a sadistic side.

"For you, Ron, anything," she said with a sly grin.

Ron gave her a quizzical look. "What? Just like that? I'd have thought you'd charge me 10 galleons."

"No of course not. That would be against the agreement that Harry and I have." She pulled Ron's potions book towards her.

"What agreement?" Ron looked from Harry to Hermione.

Harry looked only mildly interested in the conversation.

"Oh didn't he tell you?" Hermione said matter-of-factly. "See, Harry told me how you were trying to figure out a way to get me to 'help' you with your studies, so he and I worked out a deal. You two get as much help with your schoolwork as you want, I guarantee you'll pass all your classes."

Ron's eyes widened. "Really? That's great." Ron said excited. "Beats studying." He finally noticed that Hermione had a sly grin on her face. "Wait a minute. What do you get out of this deal?" he asked skeptically.

"Harry has to marry me." Hermione said calmly as she turned a page in the potions book.

Ron almost fell out of his chair. "WHAT?"

Hermione made a concerted effort not to laugh. "Well not now, of course. After we leave Hogwarts."

"You're kidding." He turned to Harry. "She's kidding right?"

"Hermione has no sense of humor, remember?" Harry said blandly, going along with the joke.

"Harry, you can't do this." Ron pleaded. "It's not worth it."

"Hey, I resent that," Hermione said with mock anger.

"You have to admit Ron, you're grades aren't that great," Harry reasoned. "It's a pretty good deal if you think about it."

"Hermione Granger-Potter," Hermione said in a fake dreamy voice. "Has a nice ring to it don't you think?"

Ron was turning green. "I don't believe this. Harry, have you lost your mind? This is Hermione we're talking about. You can't marry her!"

"And why not!" Hermione said defensively, still trying not to crack a smile.

"Yes Ron," Harry added coolly. "Why not?"

"Because… because… well just because!"

"Oooo, that is a very good reason," Hermione teased.

"This isn't funny." Ron was making such a scene that several more people were staring at him now.

"Oh calm down, Ron," Hermione chastised. "You have to get started on your potions essay. Unless you want Snape to give you detention for not having it done."

Harry turned his book around so Hermione could read it. "Before you do that, could you help me with the levitation charm. I just seem to have a block for it."

"How can you think about charms at a time like this?" Ron said almost shouting.

"Well I figure if I've got to marry the girl, I should at least milk my end for everything it's worth. You should too, you know. After all, I made this deal for you."

"He's got a point," Hermione said in a chipper voice.

Ron started shaking his friend. "Harry, you can't sell away the rest of your life just for some good grades. It's not worth it."

"Well it's too late now," Hermione, said pulling out a quill. "A deal's a deal. There's no turning back. We've got a contract."

Ron stood, exasperated. "I can't deal with this. Harry, when you two are through, I think we need to have a nice long talk." He stormed off towards the stairs to his dormitory.

When he was out of earshot, Hermione and Harry collapsed on the table in a fit of laughter.

"Not bad Hermione." Harry said when he finally composed himself. "I can't believe you actually got him to buy that."

"The beauty of being known as a goodie-two-shoes is that no one will ever suspect that you're lying." Hermione said with the same sly grin.

"I think I had you pegged all wrong," Harry admitted. "You've got a bit of a dark side."

"So when are you going to tell him?" Hermione asked, moving Ron's book aside.

"I think I'll give him a couple of hours to simmer," Harry decided. "That should give you enough time to help me with that charm."

"Oh I see how it is," Hermione gave him one of her trademark disapproving looks. "You'd better be careful, Harry. I could be a very demanding wife."

" I can imagine."

"It's not funny!" Ron said for the fifth time. Harry and Hermione were still laughing over the way they had tricked him the previous night. It was Saturday morning and the trio was eating breakfast.

"Let me take you back Ron," Harry laughed. "'Harry, you can't sell away the rest of your life just for some good grades. It's not worth it.'"

Ron turned red, but said nothing.

"Now you know not to mess with me, Ron Weasley." Hermione warned with a grin.

"You're scary, you know that?" Ron sighed. It seemed he had finally gotten used to the idea of having Hermione around.

"Oh look, if it isn't Potty and the Weasel," came a drawling voice from behind them that could have only belonged to Draco Malfoy.

The three friends turned to see Malfoy and Pansy standing behind them. "Oh and look, the dynamic duo added a third loser to their ranks." Malfoy continued.

"First poor pathetic Weasley, now muggle-born Granger," Pansy snarled. "What's next?"

Harry was about to answer but Hermione cut him off. "Well we were thinking about adding a trained monkey to the group, but it looks like you're already with Malfoy."

Harry and Ron laughed. Malfoy and Pansy stormed off saying nothing.

"I can't stand that girl." Hermione said returning to the book in front of her.

"So what should we do today," Ron asked Harry.

While Harry and Ron talked about their plans, Hermione started thinking about what she had planned for the weekend, and realized that she had nothing. It was the same every weekend. She had two choices, she could either go sit with Lavender, Parvati and their Ravenclaw friends while they prattled on about their latest crushes or she could go to the library and be alone and lonely. Neither of the ideas really appealed to her. What she really wanted to do was spend more time talking with them. She had really enjoyed the conversation they had the previous evening, and having someone to sit with here in the Great Hall. But even though she was finally friends with Harry, she knew that he'd still probably spend most of his time with Ron, leaving her to fend for herself.

Harry and Ron stood from the table. Hermione had been so deep in thought that she hadn't heard a word of their conversation.

"Are you coming?" Harry asked her.

"Huh?"

"I told you, those books have rotted her brain," Ron said with a grin.

"We're going to go see Hagrid." Harry said. "Didn't you hear us?"

"Oh, yes of course I heard you." Hermione shut the book in front of her. "Who's Hagrid?"

Hagrid as it turned out, was the Hogwarts grounds keeper. She had seen him from her spot on the ramparts several times walking across the courtyards, but she'd never actually talked to him or seen him in person, except eating at the head table.

As it turned out, Harry was friends with Hagrid and had been even before school started.

"He's the one who first told me about Hogwarts and being a wizard." Harry explained as they walked towards Hagrid's cabin. "He's really nice, just… don't eat anything he offers you," he warned.

They knocked on Hagrid's door and immediately heard a booming bark in response. "Uh, what was that?"

"Oh it's just Fang. Don't worry, he's harmless."

Anything that loud couldn't possibly be harmless, but Hermione took his word for it. The door opened and Hermione got her first up close and personal look at Hagrid. He was huge.

"Oh my," she thought. "He's got to be a giant. No wait, giants are much bigger, but he's definitely half-giant, probably on his mother's side. I never noticed it before but now I'm absolutely positive."

"Well, 'ello Harry, Ron. Who have we 'ear?" Hagrid said jovially as he opened the door.

"This is Hermione," Harry introduced them and Hagrid shook her entire arm.

"Oh, I remember you telling me about 'er." Hagrid said. "Cleverest witch in your year."

Hermione blushed. Had Harry really said that about her?

"Come in, I just finished makin' some treacle fudge. You want some?"

"No thanks Hagrid, we just ate breakfast." Harry said hastily as they sat down.

Fang bounded from his corner and pounced on Harry before he even had a chance to get to the table. Hermione was relieved to see that the dog was as harmless as Harry had said. He seemed to like Harry and licked him feverishly until Hagrid pulled him off.

"How's quidditch practice going Harry?" Hagrid asked as he sat down at the table.

Harry told Hagrid all about his practices with the team, then the trio shared the story about the troll. Harry was careful to leave out the real reason why Hermione was in the girl's bathroom to begin with, and she was grateful for that.

"I heard summat 'appened with you three from Professor McGonagall, but I never knew all that." Hagrid said when they finished their story. "Are you alright Hermione?"

"Yes, I'm just glad they made it there in time." Hermione said.

"Well, I've got me chores to do," Hagrid announced. "What're you three up to?"

"Dean wants to teach all of us about muggle soccer this afternoon," Ron told him. "We're supposed to meet him down by the lake in a few minutes. This should be a hoot."

"Yeah, we'd better get going." Harry stood. "You coming Hermione?"

"Uh, I may come watch but I don't think I'm going to play." Hermione decided. "Maybe I'll go up to the castle and bring a book down so I can read while you boys kick around."

"Alright, we'll we're going to get going then. We'll see you down there." Harry and Ron left out of the cabinet.

Hermione got up from the table and was about to leave when Hagrid spoke again. "So, what're you think of our young Mr. Potter, Hermione."

Hermione hadn't expected the question. She looked in his beetle-black eyes that shined kindness. "Well, at first I didn't know what to think. I mean, after all, he is Harry Potter. But he sort of surprised me. So I don't know anymore."

"Oh I think ya do know," Hagrid said with a booming laugh. "Let me tell ya something. Harry's just wants to be like every other boy 'ere at Hogwarts. He's just as confused about who he is as you are. If ya want to really know Harry though, just be 'is friend. He could use another good friend who doesn't treat him differently 'cause of You-Know-Who. I think you'll be good for him."

"Really?" Hermione brightened.

"Behind every good wizard, there's an even better witch." Hagrid said.

She laughed. "I doubt he'll see it that way."

"Give 'im some time, I'm sure he'll come 'round," Hagrid assured her. "Sure you don't want any fudge before you go?"

"Uh, no. I'd better get going." She walked towards the door but then turned around. "Say, Hagrid, did Harry really say that… what I mean to say is do you think he… um… well…" She couldn't figure out the right way to ask the question without sounding like some obsessed Harry Potter fan who wanted to know if her idol ever breathed her name.

Hagrid seemed to understand. "Well, I'll tell you one thing Hermione, you're the only witch I've ever heard Harry talk about. That's gotta mean summat."

Hermione tried to hide her intense elation as she hurried out of the cabin.

Hermione sat under the shade of a tree as she watched several Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs play muggle-soccer. Some of the older boys who hadn't gone to Hogsmeade conjured up a few goals and after the rules were explained, Dean broke out his ball and the game began.

Hermione was glad she had decided to sit this out as it looked like the boys were playing rough. There were only a few girls on the field and they all looked far more athletic than her.

None of the Gryffindor girls were on the field and that didn't surprise Hermione at all. She had watched as Lavender and Parvati made their appearance 15 minutes into the game but only to be overenthusiastic cheerleaders for the Gryffindors, especially Harry. A few Slytherins were also on the scene, but they mostly just made snide comments about how "respectable wizards and witches would never engage in such a degrading muggle activity."

During one of the breaks, Harry came and plopped down next to Hermione. He was sweating but had a huge grin plastered on his face. Ron was across the field getting tips from Dean. "Oy, this is pretty fun. Definitely not what I expected."

"You act like you've never played soccer before," Hermione put down her book.

Harry shrugged. "I haven't really. The Dursleys never let me join any sports teams or have any extracurricular activities."

"Oh," Hermione said. She'd never heard Harry talk about the Dursleys but she knew that these were the people that he had lived with almost his whole life. "Why not?"

Harry shrugged again. "I guess they were afraid to let me have contact with other kids, in case my magical side kicked in."

"They knew you were a wizard?"

"Yeah, my Aunt Petunia was my mom's sister. They knew alright, but they tried to stomp the magic out of me by making my life as miserable as possible."

Hermione's eyes widened. "You're kidding?"

"They treated me like I was a dog they couldn't get rid of most of time. When they found out that Hogwarts sent me my letter, they tried to keep it from me, but I think they were glad to get rid of me for most of the year one way or another. I'm glad too. I never want to go back. If I could stay here all year long I would."

Harry continued to tell Hermione all about his life with the Dursleys. How they never celebrated his birthday; how they, until recently, always made him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs; how his cousin Dudley and his friends always managed to find new ways to make his life miserable. Hermione was completely shocked. She'd never known what kind of life Harry had while living with his muggle aunt and uncle. No wonder he was so quiet all the time. He had grown up in a world where he wasn't allowed to ask questions or have any imagination.

"Oh Harry," Hermione bit her bottom lip. "I didn't know."

"Not many people do, except you and Ron. I don't like to talk about it a lot." Harry admitted. "But I figured since you opened up to me, I should do the same."

"Thanks," Hermione said, not knowing what else to say. She wished she could talk with him like this forever, but a moment after she thought it, Ron appeared.

"Harry, we're about to start again. You ready."

"Yup," Harry said getting up. "Say Hermione, it looks like Neville's on his last leg. I'd bet he'd appreciate it if you subbed for him."

Hermione gave him a look of disgust. "I'm not going out there and running around that field chasing after some ball."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun," Ron said cheerily. "Unless you're afraid you'll be bad at it."

"I'd rather not find out, and besides I'd practically be the only girl out there. I don't see you asking Lavender or Parvati to play."

"Well that's different, I mean Lavender and Parvati, they're… we'll they're girls." Ron said awkwardly.

"Oh and what am I?" Hermione retorted with a hint of anger and hurt in her voice. Since when did she care what Ron thought of her anyway? But she couldn't help but feel mad. She was a girl.

"You're Hermione!" Ron said as if this made perfect sense. "Besides, you should do something besides just read all afternoon."

Hermione was about to say that she enjoyed reading and didn't see anything wrong with that but Harry was quicker. "Let her read Ron, there's nothing wrong with that. If we were half as smart as Hermione we'd be studying now anyway." He dragged Ron back to the game. "We'll see you later, okay?"

Hermione nodded in shock. Harry hadn't known it, but his words had been the one thing she'd been dying to hear ever since she was little, someone who finally accepted her fondness for reading and didn't criticize her for it. Obviously Harry wasn't as much of a bookworm as she was, but it didn't matter. He was fine with her the way she was and didn't mind her idiosyncrasies. She wondered if she and Harry would become as good of friends as he was with Ron. Was it just wishful thinking?

"So I see you've got something going with Harry?" Hermione was thrown out of her thoughts once again, this time by Parvati. She was standing in front of her with Lavender and Padma.

"Huh?" Hermione jumped. Parvati had a rare serious expression on her face and it was a little scary.

"We've seen the way you've been hanging with him lately. What's going on?" Parvati asked with a hint of anger and jealousy in her voice.

For a split second, Hermione debated about telling Parvati the same lie she had told Ron yesterday. These three girls were dumb enough to fall for it without any question. They'd think it was the only way a girl like her could get in good with "the famous Harry Potter," but then she realized that it would be more trouble than it's worth. Telling Parvati and Padma anything was a sure fire way to get it spread all over school and she didn't want to ruin her growing relationship with Harry by having a nasty rumor being spread around.

She wondered what she could tell Parvati that would make that scowl go away. "Well… uh… Harry and I just decided that we should at least be civil to one another since we're in the same house, that's all."

"Well remember what I told you, about Ron using you to get free homework help." Lavender reminded her. "Don't let them take advantage of you."

Hermione doubted very seriously that these girls cared anything about her being taken advantage of, but she smiled sweetly anyway. "Oh I won't. Don't worry about that."

"Well we're going back to the castle, to grab a snack. You want to come with us?" Padma offered.

"No, I promised Harry I'd wait for him until after the game." Hermione couldn't believe she'd let that slip out, but she was nervous with these three girls standing over her, "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Parvati's face fell again. "I see. Well I guess I should have known that."

Before Hermione could say anything, the girls had strolled off. "Oh great, I've just started a war with my roommates. I have to live with these girls for 6 ½ more years. Now I know I need to become head girl my seventh year. I hear they get their own room. I never knew making friends was this much work. I wonder if Parvati is going to throw herself at Harry even more. This is just what I need. Oh well it could be worse; at least I have someone to talk about it now. Actually I have more than one person to talk about it with. Hagrid really seems to understand me too. He's nothing like I would expect a giant to be. Maybe it's because he's only a half giant. Ron's not too bad either, in his own way. I guess I can put up with him."

She watched as Harry and the other students ran up and down the field. Neville was looking very tired. Hermione reached inside her pocket and pulled out her wand. "Well since I'm here, I might as well give Neville a little pick-me-up." She pulled out her wand, muttered a few choice words, and watched as Neville's energy and speed increase two fold. She noticed Harry was looking at her. He'd seen her do the spell on Neville and gave her the thumbs up.

Hermione smiled and returned to her book, "Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts."

All and all, things were looking up for Hermione, she may have to deal with some jealous roommates but at least she had some good friends, and she knew now that Harry would stick by her and be a true friend. She couldn't ask for anything more. Life was finally looking up at Hogwarts.

A/N: Aw, things are getting better for Hermione. Seems Ron was pretty jealous after Hermione and Harry played that trick on him. Maybe someone's hiding a little crush on Mione? :D

Review please.


	8. The Tables Are Turned

Chapter Summary: What was going through Hermione's mind when she saved Harry's life at that first quidditch match? Now we get to see.

Hermione bundled her robes around her as the wind whipped through her bushy hair. If she hadn't been a witch, she'd have never come up on the ramparts that night. Winter was definitely coming to Hogwarts and it was very cold. But she was ready for this. As she stepped towards the wall, she pulled out her wand and muttered a few words. The wind seemed to cease. Then she used her favorite spell to conjure some blue flames. After a few seconds, it was almost as warm as it was in the fall.

She looked out over the wall and she could see the lights of a few houses in Hogsmeade in the distance. It was long after midnight, definitely past curfew. She would have never done this before she became friends with Harry, but it seemed he and Ron had an influence on her behavior. They would probably say that she had "loosened up."

It was the night before the Gryffindor/Slytherin quidditch game and Hermione couldn't sleep for several reasons, the biggest being that she was worried her friendship with Harry and Ron was making her two roommates loath her. They never said anything about it to her face, but she had overheard part of a conversation that evening as she walked into her dormitory.

"It's so obvious they're not really friends," Parvati had been saying. "She's using Harry to be popular, and they're using her to pass all their classes. It was probably all her idea."

Hermione leaned against the wall as she thought about the conversation she had inadvertently walked in on. What if it was true? What if Harry and Ron still hated her, but were secretly using her to get good grades? But that was absurd. She knew that Parvati was just jealous because Hermione was spending time with Harry and she wasn't, but it was still unfair. She wondered if other people thought the same thing. She didn't get nearly as many angry stares from her classmates, except for the Slytherins of course. Did they all back down because she was the friend of Harry Potter?

She didn't know why this bothered her so much. She wasn't using Harry to be popular. If anything that was the last thing she wanted, to be more noticed by her classmates. She had even stopped being as enthusiastic in classes. Sure she still raised her hand more often than most others, but now that she sat near Harry and Ron in every class, she was already getting enough attention that she didn't want anymore. The whole thing was weird and exciting all at the same time.

Then of course she was worried about Harry. It seemed that the stress of school, coupled with his upcoming first quidditch game, was too much for him. He was beginning to see conspiracies where they didn't exist. Just earlier that day, Harry had told her that he was convinced that Snape was trying to steal whatever was being guarded by the huge three-headed dog they had run into several weeks ago. It didn't help that Ron was encouraging this theory. But Hermione knew there was nothing to it. Hogwarts teachers were always the most trustworthy wizards and witches in the world, she had read all about it in "Hogwarts: A History." Even if Snape was unfair, there was no way that Albus Dumbledore would keep him on staff if he didn't trust him.

No, this was all due to Harry's stress level and the fact that Snape was being particularly mean lately. "This is exactly why first years aren't allowed on the house teams," she thought to herself. "The stress is just too much." She had been doing her best to help Harry with his homework but she feared even this wouldn't be enough. Perhaps after he got his first quidditch game out of the way, he wouldn't worry so much about them afterwards and he'd begin to relax. Then, maybe she could relax.

"You know, somehow I knew you'd be up here," Hermione spun around so fast she almost tripped. Harry was standing right behind her on his Nimbus 2000.

"Harry, are you crazy?" she almost shouted. "What are you doing up here? You could have been caught. You could have gotten detention. You could have been banned from playing quidditch tomorrow."

Harry ignored her ranting. "I couldn't sleep. There were lots of things going through my head. Looks like you couldn't sleep either. As for being banned from playing quidditch tomorrow; that would probably be a load off my mind."

"Oh Harry," Hermione sighed. "You'll be fine tomorrow."

"Everyone keeps saying that."

"I've watched every single one of your practices from up here, you know. You are the best flyer of any quidditch player in this school. No one will be able to touch you tomorrow."

" Right." Harry said doubtfully, stepping off his broom onto the wall. "You really think I'm better than all the other players."

"There's no comparison." Hermione said earnestly.

"You know, when you say it, I actually believe it. I know you'll tell me the truth and not just what I want to hear, even if it hurts."

"That's me, good old blunt Hermione," she laughed.

"Of course, that whole thing with Snape is bothering me too," Harry admitted. "Every time I closed my eyes tonight, I could see the expression on his face."

"Oh Harry, you're not still on about that," Hermione sighed.

"Hermione, if you had seen what I saw, you'd believe me."

She stared into his eyes again; they had a pleading look in them. "I just don't know. Maybe if we had more proof."

"Then we'll get more proof," Harry said determinedly.

"Alright, alright. I guess it wouldn't hurt to do a little digging around. I mean it is kind of odd that a troll got into the castle. I mean, things like that almost never happen at Hogwarts; the castle is far too well protected. Someone would have had to let him in."

"See now you're thinking," Harry said eagerly.

"I'm not saying it was Snape," Hermione added quickly. "But if it is, I bet we could find out for sure. Then we could tell Professor Dumbledore what we know."

"Agreed." Harry nodded. "After tomorrow, I'll have more time because we won't have any quidditch practice for a while. We can start figuring out what to do then."

"Okay, I'll start thinking of a plan," Hermione decided.

Harry turned back to his broom and climbed on. "Thanks Hermione, I think I'll sleep a little better knowing your going to help us figure this out."

Hermione couldn't help grinning from ear to ear as Harry flew down the side of the castle.

"Oh, Harry will love this!" Hermione squealed. She was referring to a large banner that Seamus, Ron, and Dean had unfolded once they reached one of the top rows of the quidditch stands. It read, "Potter for President" and had a picture of the Gryffindor lion on it. "Who drew this?"

"I did the lion," Dean said proudly.

Neville was trying to keep the banner from flying away with the wind. "Now if only we could figure out how to hold this up."

"Oh Neville, you should never go anywhere without your wand," Hermione chastised. She pulled out her own wand and waved it at the banner. "Wingardium Leviosa." The banner rose into the air, just above their head.

Hermione wasn't done though, she waved her wand and said another spell that none of the others recognized. The paint on the banner began to flash different colors.

"Where do you learn this stuff from?" Ron asked. She was surprised that he had actually spoken to her. In fact, since she became friends with Harry, he hadn't really said anything to her much. Not when Harry wasn't around anyway. Hermione felt hopeful about this. She wanted Ron to like her too. And it would be much more pleasant around here if she and Ron didn't just tolerate each other just because they happened to share the same friend.

"Books, Ron. You know… those little things with paper in them." Hermione said with a grin.

Ron sat down but said nothing. Hoping that she didn't make him angry with this remark, she carefully sat down beside him. When he didn't react, Hermione relaxed a little. At least he wasn't telling her to go away like he normally would. Hermione's attention was averted to the field.

"Oooo look. They're coming out." Hermione squealed as the Gryffindor and Slytherin team emerged from their locker rooms.

After a few minutes the quaffle was in the air and the game had begun. Hermione had read all about quidditch, of course, so she knew the rules and how the game was played, but she had never seen an actually game. Even watching countless practices hadn't prepared her for what she was seeing now. It was incredible. The speed and accuracy of the players was amazing. Quaffle and bludger alike flew around the field at an almost insane speed. She wondered how anyone could see what was going on, let alone concentrate with all of the balls and players flying around. Now she knew why witches and wizards everywhere loved quidditch. It was truly the most amazing sport she'd ever seen.

"It's no wonder Harry loves flying. If I could be a part of that, I would." As she watched the game, Hermione absentmindedly wondered what it would be like to be a quidditch player, perhaps a chaser or a keeper. But then she quickly remembered that she was an average flyer at best and that quidditch definitely wouldn't be her cup of tea. She decided to stick to being a spectator.

After Gryffindor's first goal, Hagrid had come to join the group in the stands. The action of the game was heating up and he didn't want to be left to watch from his cabin. Hermione couldn't blame him. There was no place she'd rather be right now. Even though Harry hadn't had much work to do yet, the game was still exciting. A few minutes after she thought it though, all that had changed.

"There it is!" Hermione shouted. "There's the snitch." Lee Jordan's commentary had confirmed it. "He's seen it, he's seen it." Hermione was dancing on her toes now as Harry flew down from his lofty position to grab the snitch.

Hermione was positive he would reach it before the Slytherin seeker, but then suddenly, Marcus Flint blocked him and Harry spun off course.

"Oh that dirty cheater," Hermione shouted.

Ron looked at Hermione in stunned silence. "Whoa Hermione, I've never seen you get this excited about anything beyond your Transfiguration grades."

"Oh Ron," Hermione huffed, slightly insulted. "I do have a life you know."

Ron was about to say something to retort, but was distracted by Dean, who was shouting something about red cards and soccer. Hermione was ignoring all of this as her attention returned to the game. She found the dot that was Harry and noticed that he was surprisingly still. Perhaps he had seen the snitch again and was preparing to dive. No, he was rising higher and higher. Every now and again she saw his broom jerk.

"What's going on? Why is Harry flying so erratically?" Hermione had spent hours watching Harry fly and she knew his style better than anyone else. Something was terribly wrong.

Hagrid seemed to have noticed it too. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he lost control of his broom. But he can't have."

The situation was getting worse. Harry's broom wasn't just bucking, it was rolling around. He was hanging on for dear life. The broom was actually trying to throw him off. Everyone had noticed it now but no one could do anything about it. Anyone who tried to get close to Harry to help him, only caused the broom to go higher and higher.

A terrible thought struck Hermione. "Harry's going to die. No one can help him, not the other players, not the professors. Where's Dumbledore?" She wondered vaguely if this was Pansy's doing. But somehow she didn't think the first year Slytherin could accomplish something that complex.

"Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick, except powerful dark magic. No kid could do that to a Nimbus 2000." She heard Hagrid saying to Seamus.

"He's right, no kid could do that. No student at Hogwarts could. It would take dark magic, the kind of dark magic that only a fully trained wizard skilled in the arts would know. It would have to be one of the adults, one of the professors, cursing the broom. But what Hogwarts professor would want to harm Harry…"

Then suddenly, she knew. It came to her in an instant. She grabbed Hagrid's binoculars and began to scan the Slytherin section of the stands. Sure enough, there he was, Snape, muttering under his breath, ever so slightly. If she hadn't been looking directly at him, she wouldn't have noticed.

"I knew it!" she shouted at Ron. "Snape… look!" She handed him the binoculars. "He's doing something… jinxing the broom."

Ron looked shocked and pale. "What should we do?"

A wild look flashed in Hermione's eyes. "Leave it to me," and without any further explanation, she took off down the stands, her mind racing.

"How could I have been so dense? Harry tried to warn me. He told me that he had found out that Snape had tried to get passed that three-headed dog, but did I listen? No! I can't believe this. It's all my fault. If I had just taken him more seriously, we would have known to keep our guard up around Snape. We could have prepared for an attack like this." She was hurtling down the stairs now. She could still see Harry dangling from his broom. "I won't let you die, Harry. Just hang one. I'm going to get you out of this I promise."

She started sprinting across the quidditch field. No one even noticed her, because all eyes were on Harry now. As she ran, Hermione's mind flashed back to all of the fun she'd already had with Harry these past few weeks and she couldn't remember any happier time in her life. She finally had a real friend, someone who understood and accepted her, and now Snape was going to take that all away. "No, I won't allow it! Please Harry, I'm going to get you out of this. Just hold on a few more minutes."

Hermione had made it to the opposite set of stands. She was completely out of breath now, clutching a stitch in her side, but she wouldn't stop running. She kept pushing herself as she pelted up the stairs. "Oh if I could kill Snape I would. He'd better be glad I don't have the skill to use the cruciatus curse. That would teach him for messing with Harry." As much pleasure as the thought torturing Snape gave her, Hermione realized as she ran through the stands that she really had no idea what she was going to do. All she knew was that she wanted to hurt Snape, punish him for the pain he was causing Harry and her. She was moving so quickly that she knocked people out of the way in her desperate effort to get directly behind Snape.

"Stupid git," Hermione thought as she pushed Professor Quirrell to the side. "If he were any good at defense against the dark arts he'd be helping Harry instead of standing there like an idiot while Snape tries to kill him."

She'd reached her target. She was crouched directly behind Snape. Now all she needed was the right spell. Something to break Snape's eye contact for a few seconds would do the trick. Hermione was so mad and flustered that only one spell came to mind, but it was perfect. She pulled out her wand, uttered a few choice words and produced her trademark blue flames. They shot out of her wand onto the back of Snape's robes.

The wait was agonizing. It seemed to take an eternity for Snape to notice that he was on fire, but he finally did and it made him jump in pain. Hermione quickly collected her magical flames into a jam jar that she used often to hold similar fires, and then she speed away before she could get caught. As she took off for down the row again, she looked up and saw that her diversion had been enough. Snape's eye contact had been broken and Harry was able to get back onto his broom.

"Alright Harry!" Hermione shouted as she watched him steady himself. "Now go get that snitch!" She started down the stairs again to join her fellow Gryffindors in the opposite stands. As she ran back across the field, she noticed Harry shooting like a dart towards the ground. Was he going to crash? Was he going to be sick? Had the ordeal been too much for him?

She watched him hit the field on his hands and knees. He really did look like he was going to be sick. Hermione was debating about whether or not she should try to help him, when suddenly he spit something up. Harry wasn't sick after all. He held up his hand to show everyone that he had the golden snitch. He had ended the game and Gryffindor had won 170 to 60.

She saw Harry look right at her, a huge grin on his face, before collapsing on his hands and knees again. Suddenly she jumped when someone bumped into her. She jumped again when she noticed who it was. Ron was by her side. He and the other Gryffindors were pouring out of the stands. "Come on," he said, grabbing her arm. Her stomach gave a sudden jolt. She looked down at her arm, which was gripped gently in his hand as he pulled her along. She felt herself blushing and quickly scolded herself. Why was sh so flustered about Ron?

It was just shock, she told herself. I'm just surprised he's actually starting to get used to me. Nothing more. Ron, pulled her harder and she realized that she was barely dragging her feet, she was so out of it. "We'd better go see if he's okay." He told her.

They ran off to where Harry was still sitting on the field, dazed. "You did it Harry! You won the game!" Ron was shouting.

"You were amazing Harry. I was so worried," Hermione finally breathed, as Ron let go of her arm.

Other students were gathered around as well. "Back up now. Everyone out of the way," Hagrid boomed as he swept through the crowd. In one swift motion he picked Harry up, broomstick and all. "I'm taking him back to me cabin. Come on you two." He said to Ron and Hermione. "Back up, I said. Harry needs some strong tea and some rest. You can celebrate later."

Hermione let out a calming sigh as she followed Hagrid through the crowd. She had done it; Harry was safe. She felt like collapsing herself.

Hermione sat in an un-crowded corner of the common room that evening. The whole of Gryffindor house was celebrating their quidditch victory. It seemed that everyone had forgotten about the near fatal incident that had befallen Harry and were instead concentrating on the fact that they had beaten Slytherin.

But Hermione couldn't forget. She couldn't forget the dark look in Snape's eyes, she couldn't forget how Harry was hanging on for dear life, and she couldn't forget how it made her feel to be that close to losing the best friend she'd ever had. She wanted desperately to escape to the quiet of the ramparts so she could think, but she didn't want to seem anti-social, not while everyone was celebrating Harry's triumph.

She thought about the conversation they had had earlier in Hagrid's cabin. She, Ron, and Harry had tried desperately to convince Hagrid that it was Snape who tried to kill Harry. But Hagrid was just as stubborn as she had been on the topic only a day ago. He wouldn't believe that a Hogwarts teacher would try to kill a student. She realized then that there was no way that Dumbledore would believe them either. They would have to get more proof.

They had learned some useful information from Hagrid though. As it turned out, he was the one who owned the three-headed dog. He had named it "Fluffy," which Hermione found rather ironic since there was nothing fluffy about the dog in her opinion. From what Hagrid had let slip, he lent the dog to Dumbledore to protect something that was valuable to both the headmaster and a man by the name of Nicholas Flamel. But beyond that, they were just as clueless as before. They had known clue who Flamel was, though the name did sound familiar. What could be so valuable that Snape would try to betray Dumbledore and kill Harry Potter? It just didn't make any sense.

As the party began to die down and the crowd in the common room thinned, Harry came to sit with her. Ron was still laughing with his two older twin brothers.

"Hey," he said calmly as he sat across from her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just thinking about everything," Hermione said quietly.

"You know in all the rush and celebrating and stuff, I never did properly thank you for saving my life." Harry grinned awkwardly at her. " Ron told me how brave you were."

"Oh Harry…" Hermione started to wave it away as if it were nothing. Then gave a small gasp. " Oh! Did... did Ron really say that he thought I was brave?" She asked, stunned.

Hermione could tell that Harry was hiding a smile. " Um, well he didn't exactly say it. But he told me what you did. That was really brave of you."

" Oh, well then." She couldn't help but be a little disappointed. " Well that's just as good I suppose. At least he doesn't think I'm completely horrible now. I was so worried about you, Harry. I-I thought... what if you-"

"Hermione," Harry cut across her. "If it weren't for you, there's no way I would have survived. You really kept your wits about you. I'm glad you were looking out for me."

Hermione blushed. "Well, you saved my life too, you know. I guess we're even now."

Harry let his smile through now. "You know how you always used to tell me that you weren't sure if you'd be able to react well in a pinch, you know, because of what happened with the troll and how you froze." Hermione nodded slowly. She remembered sharing that fear with Harry in one of their previous conversations.

Harry continued. "Well I think this proves that you can be the same clever, resourceful witch that you always are, even when the stakes are high."

Hermione smiled. She realized that she had answered the question that had dropped in her head back at Halloween. The tables had been turned and when Harry was in trouble, she was able to save him, just as he had done for her. Maybe she did have the courage it took to be a good witch after all.

Harry stood. "I'm glad to have you as a friend." He told her. Before she could react to this, he looked around to make sure nobody was listening and leaned down to whisper to her, " And I know Ron is too, even if he doesn't like to show it. Don't worry so much of what he thinks about you. Like I said, he's coming along."

"Thanks," Hermione said almost breathlessly as he left. Harry didn't know it, but Hermione felt like she could explode with joy right there on the spot. She realized that it didn't matter what Lavender or Parvati or any of the other students thought. She knew the truth: she and Harry Potter were friends and that's all that mattered.

A/N: Who can feel the Ron/Hermione love already? So Hermione's just figuring out that she might have a crush on Ron. Let's see where this goes.

Review.


	9. A Very Granger Christmas

Chapter Summary: I think the chapter title says it all. Hermione's back with her parents to spend an interesting (if not slightly stressful) holiday.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had decided that the first thing they had to do was find out exactly what "fluffy" was guarding. They needed to know as much as possible about whatever was beneath the trap door so they could understand why Snape would want to steal it. The best way to do that would be to find out all about Nicholas Flamel. Hermione felt like she was in her element. Finding out obscure facts was what she did best, and the library was like her home. She was positive that she would be able to quickly figure out the puzzle by doing a little research.

Unfortunately she quickly found out that it wouldn't be that easy. Nicholas Flamel might as well be a ghost; he was just as elusive. No matter how many books she and the boys checked, they could never find his name. What made things worse was that they only had a few spare moments throughout the week to look, and the cold weather wasn't exactly motivating them to want to be in the drafty library. Still they didn't relent in their search no matter how futile it seemed and they also remember that Snape wasn't going to get past Fluffy anytime soon. It didn't matter how much dark magic he knew, the three-headed dog would rip him to shreds before he could even raise his wand.

Although they were eager to learn the mystery behind Flamel, the trio didn't spend all of their free time in the library. Hogwarts had turned into a winter wonderland and Hermione wanted to relish this time before she had to go back home for the holidays. Her favorite times were walks around the lake with Ron and Harry. It wasn't exactly special in a sense, but to her it was precious. They would just talk. About anything. Nothing exciting in particular. It was just a casual thing for Harry and Ron. But not for her. No, for Hermione, these times together before the holidays were precious.

Their last walk around the lake was the afternoon before the holidays started. They had just left lunch and Ron had gone off to play one final round of wizard's chess with Seamus. Hermione felt a pang of hurt when she saw that Ron wasn't going to join them. But she covered it up quickly.

Why do I care so much, she asked herself. She had read in books somewhere that when you're in love, you feel painful when the one you love leaves the room. But of course, she had read that in some muggle teen girl magazine somewhere. And anyway, she couldn't be in love. She was only eleven years old. And to top it all of, with Ron Weasley? Not a chance

Hermione just figured that she felt a little bit sorry for letting one of her first friends out of her sight. That had to be it. She just wanted to spend as much time as she could around her friends before she had to leave and Ron was ruining that by going off to play a stupid board game.

She tried to keep these new, strange thoughts about Ron out of her mind. As she and Harry walked down to the lake, Hermione thought about the fight she had gotten into with Pansy Parkingson at lunch. She and Harry started a deep conversation about this, both expressing their dislike for the sneering Slytherin girl.

"I swear if that girl says 'muggle-born witch' to me one more time, I'm going to figure out how to transfigure her into a toad," Hermione said.

Harry laughed. "I think that's easier said than done, but I wouldn't put it past you. So what are you going to do for the holidays back in the muggle world?" he asked changing the subject.

Hermione hadn't really given that much thought. "Well, I'm sure both my parents will still be working. I know how their practices can be this time of year. Everyone is on holiday, of course, so this is a good time for most people to go get a checkup. I'll probably have a lot of free time on my hands while they're at work. I'll be studying of course to make sure I have everything ready for when I come back to school. Other than that, I guess I'll just try to relax."

Harry gave her a look that said all too clearly he thought Hermione could use some time to relax. "What about your friends back home? Are you going to see any of them?" He said, sounding worried now, as if he was already expecting the reply she was about to give.

"Uh… I don't really have any friends back home. You know, I told you about my old school," she said vaguely, recalling that she'd actually left that part out about her life back at home.

Harry nodded slowly. "I just figured maybe you had friends in your neighborhood, or cousins your age or something," he mumbled.

"Nope. None of my extended family lives nearby. It doesn't matter though," Hermione said brightly. "I'll have a fun time back home. I've always loved Christmas. So what are you going to do during the holidays?"

"I don't know," Harry shrugged. "Ron wants to teach me wizard's chess."

Hermione shuddered. "That game is so barbaric."

"Oh, isn't that Hermione language for: 'I suck at that game,'" Harry teased.

"Okay that's it. You're going to pay for that one." Hermione pulled out her wand and waved it at the ground. "Fred and George taught me this."

Three balls of snow shot from the ground and speed towards Harry. His eyes grew wide and he took off towards the castle, with the snowballs in hot pursuit.

Hermione followed and as they made their way quickly back to main doors she marveled at how only a few weeks prior, she couldn't wait to go home to be free of school. Now she didn't want to leave her new life. Harry would be staying for the holidays, preferring this to going back to a hellish life with his muggle aunt and uncle. She was envious that Ron would get to stay over the holidays with him because his mom and dad were going off to visit his older brother for the holidays. Meanwhile, in less than a day, she would be on the Hogwarts Express, speeding back to a life she didn't even feel was hers anymore. It felt very weird.

Hermione sat with Lavender, Parvati, and Padma on the train ride back to London. Lavender and Parvati were being extra nice to her lately and Hermione suspected that it was because she had walked in on them talking about her, and they felt guilty. In any case, the girls were careful not to talk about Harry at all on the trip, and Hermione had to admit it was ten times more pleasant than her last ride on the train. She even joined in on their banter about the latest "who likes who" gossip at Hogwarts.

Hermione donned her normal clothing in the bathroom on the train shortly after its departure from Hogsmeade. When they arrived in London, she said a quick goodbye to her roommates and then rushed off the train, eager to beat the crowd to the platform exit. As she walked down the platform, she noticed several merchants lining the wall.

"Cringle's Charmed Christmas Catalogs!" one of them shouted. "Shop for Christmas gifts from the convenience of your home. We pickup your order and money, and your gifts arrive exactly on Christmas Day, guaranteed."

Hermione paused. She hadn't thought about buying a Christmas gift for Harry or Ron, and she knew there was little chance she'd be getting back to Diagon Alley during the holidays. Her parents hadn't been overly impressed with the Leaky Cauldron the last time they went. She made her way over to the merchant.

"How much are these?" she asked the balding man.

"Absolutely free, my dear. You don't pay until you shop."

"Really? That's great." Hermione took the catalog he offered her. "How does it work?"

He pointed to the envelope in the center of the catalog. "Just place your money and order into the envelope. It has a modified port key charm. Once you seal it, your order will be whisked away to our office and we'll take care of the rest. But remember, don't seal the envelope until you're absolutely sure you're order is right. You only get one chance. Also the envelope won't leave if you don't have the correct amount of money inside for your order. Change will be sent back to you in the return envelope a few hours later."

Hermione took all this in as she thumbed through the book. The catalog seemed to have everything from candy to broomsticks. She was sure she'd be able to find the perfect gifts in it. Then something struck her.

"Uh… do you take muggle money by any chance?" she asked tentatively.

"Excuse me?" the merchant eyed her suspiciously. "We're trying to run a professional operation here."

"Never mind," she said quickly. She shoved the catalog into her bag and walked towards the platform exit again. She didn't have much wizard's money left. She silently scolded herself for not converting more of her savings when she was at Gringotts in the summer. She would have to make do with the 5 galleons she had left. She never actually needed to buy anything at Hogwarts and she still had plenty of school supplies so she would just survive without pocket money for the rest of the school year.

Resolving herself to this idea, she stood in the now long line waiting to be let out of the magical station. After a few minutes the attendant allowed her through and as the muggle platform came into view, she saw her mom and dad waiting patiently for her off to one side.

"Welcome home dear!" Mrs. Granger hugged her daughter. "How was your trip back?"

"Not nearly as bad as my trip up, but it was fine." Hermione said immediately. "I wish my friends had come though. You would have gotten to meet them."

"That's alright dear, we're just glad to have you home. The car's this way."

"Wait," Mr. Granger said suddenly. "I believe you haven't shown us something, young lady."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but was careful not to let her father see this. "Dad, I told you in my last letter, Hogwarts doesn't have progress reports and I can't do magic outside of school."

"Well then how am I supposed to know that you've actually been learning something up there and not just spending our hard earned money doing parlor tricks?" her father asked irritably.

Hermione grumbled as she reached into her bag. Her father could be insufferable sometimes. "Here," she pulled out a jar that contained a floating blue flame. "It's supposed to be your Christmas gift, but you can have it now."

Her father took it. "What's this?"

"It's a flame I created. It won't extinguish. It's portable, it's waterproof, and it can keep any room warm once you take it out of the… DAD DON'T!"

Mr. Granger was unscrewing the top of the jam jar; presumably to get a closer look at the flame, but the moment he took the top off, it shot out and grew to twice its original size.

Hermione whipped out her wand and pointed it at the flame. She knew she had to contain it again before someone else noticed. "Back, get back in there," she ordered, pushing the flame back down with her wand. It shrunk back into the jar and she quickly screwed the top back on.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. That was close. "Alright, now you know what a real witch can do. Can we go home now? You can open your flame there."

Mr. Granger was still a little shaken by what had happened. "Yes… yes of course."

Hermione shook her head in irritation as she followed her parents to the parking lot. "Parlor tricks indeed."

Hermione spent the first few days of her winter break doing something she hadn't done in a long time… nothing. Her mother and father were still working at their dental practice, as they didn't plan on closing their office until Christmas Eve. Then they would open again until New Year's Eve. So during the day she had the house to herself.

Maybe it was because she was away from the pressure of her studies but Hermione had absolutely no desire to do anything that required effort. She didn't feel like she needed to impress anyone and was finally able to unwind. She lounged around the house in various sets of pajamas watching television, eating snacks, and flipping through the Charmed Christmas Catalog.

There weren't a lot of options for gifts fewer than 5 galleons. The delivery fees alone would eat up part of her money and all the prices were inflated. Plus she had no idea what she should get either of them. What do you buy for someone who saved you from a mountain troll?

Still that didn't leave a lot of money for two gifts. In the end, she decided on candy; small, practical, and sure to be appreciated by the boys. She ordered a large box of chocolate frogs for Harry, and an equally large box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans for Ron. She slipped 3 galleons into the envelope with her completed order and sealed it carefully. It disappeared in an instant.

She was glad she didn't have anyone else to buy gifts for. She hated shopping because she always felt like she had to find the perfect gift. Her parents loved the flame she'd made for them and it would definitely save them money on heating the house. This particular blue flame emitted a great deal of heat but was magically cool to the touch. This way they could move it around anywhere they wanted without any help and push it back into the jam jar when they were done with it.

Usually, it sat in the fireplace as if it were a real fire they had lit. Mrs. Granger had decided that this was the best place for it in case company came unexpectedly. If anyone asked about the color, she'd say they used special logs.

Hermione and her parents always spent dinner together and during these meals, she would tell them as much about her school life as she dared. She purposely edited some material out like the midnight misadventures that led her to find out about fluffy, the story of how Snape tried to kill Harry, and the fact that she regularly snuck out at night to visit her secret spot on the ramparts. She stuck mainly to telling them all about the new friendships she had formed and how it had a very positive influence on her school life. She did, however, eventually tell them about how Harry and Ron saved her from the mountain troll, though she made sure to point out that trolls didn't regularly storm through the castle.

"But still that was very dangerous Hermione. Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?" her mom asked between bites of chicken.

"Because I knew you'd worry," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"The whole castle doesn't sound like a very good learning environment." Mr. Granger said. "How are you supposed to keep on your studies if you have to worry about the stairs and corridors shifting, and ghosts and poltergeists and mountain trolls?"

"Dad, all of that is part of our education. Being a witch means being able to handle your environment and the unexpected," Hermione pointed out. "Some things can't be learned from books."

"Nothing of any value," Mr. Granger said.

Hermione hated when her father acted like this. "There are a lot of important things you can't get from books, like courage," she said heatedly.

Mr. Granger took a long gulp of water. "Hermione that's not the point. You're not going to get anywhere, witch or no witch, if you don't buckle down in your studies and get everything you can out of your education."

Hermione sighed. "Dad, I couldn't possibly study any harder."

"Oh really," Mr. Granger said shaking his fork at her. "From what I've seen you've spent this entire holiday so far lounging around and not getting any work done for when you return to school. If I didn't know any better, I'd say these new friends of yours have been a bad influence on you."

"Now dear…" Mrs. Granger said, trying to calm her husband.

"So what are you saying," Hermione almost shouted. She could feel her temper rising. "That I can't have any friends now?"

"I'm not saying that at all dear but you have to prioritize. You have a very special gift and you need to make the most of this experience so that when you get out in the real world you'll have all the skills and education you need at your disposal."

Hermione knew she'd never win this argument. "Fine, Dad. Rest assured; I won't let a little thing like friendship get in the way of my bright future." She stood. "Can I be excused? I have a lot of work to do before school starts, you know." She didn't wait for the answer.

Hermione was too upset to do anything so she just lay in bed staring at the ceiling and thinking. A half-hour after she'd left the table, there was a knock on her door.

Her mom entered. "Hermione, are you okay?"

She rolled over to face her mother. "Yeah I'm fine. It's just that sometimes… I don't know. I don't think Dad gets it. It's like he thinks I can't keep up with my studies and have a life at the same time."

Mrs. Granger smiled. "Of course he doesn't get it, but that's because he's a Granger. He can be very narrow-minded at times. You should know, you can be the same way when you want."

Hermione grimaced. "I'm never like that."

"Oh really, little Miss Speak-Before-You-Think." Mrs. Granger laughed. "If I recall, several weeks ago, you wrote to me saying that Harry and Ron were two 'self-centered, egotistical, prats' as you put it. Now you have nothing but praise. I think something else changed your mind out about them, and I'm not talking about being rescued from a mountain troll."

Hermione blushed. "Oh alright, I guess I can be a little hot headed at times too."

"And you have to admit, you have your father's passion for studies as well."

Hermione sighed. It was true. She did.

"You two are so stubborn and hard headed." Mrs. Granger ruffled her daughter's bushy hair. "That's why I love you both."

"You're a masochist," Hermione laughed.

"No… I'm a Granger." Mrs. Granger kissed her daughter and then left the room. "Now you better get some rest dear. Tomorrow's Christmas."

Hermione tore into another gift. "I hope Father Christmas was this generous to the other kids in the world."

Mr. Granger gave her a quizzical look. "Hermione, you've never believed in that.'

"Even as a 5-year-old you were completely against the idea," Mrs. Granger reminded her.

"Well that's before I read 'Great Wizards and Witches of the Old Era,'" Hermione explained as she unwrapped a new school bag. "Apparently Chris Cringle was a very powerful wizard who was trying to improve wizard/muggle relations. He decided the best way to do this would be to give gifts to poor muggle children. Of course the whole thing caused a huge scandal throughout the wizarding community. Some people were afraid that this kind of generosity would make muggles start expecting magical solutions to all their problems. Others were afraid it would lead to more serious complications.

"In the end, it became such a big mess that Cringle was put under huge restrictions by the world wizarding leaders. He was only allowed to distribute gifts once a year and as indiscreetly as possible. Then they spread around the whole 'Father Christmas' myth to throw muggles off. Of course, because Cringle had to keep himself so well hidden, no one is really 100% sure if he passed his legacy down to another witch or wizard, but since there are still so many unexplained reports of random acts of giving on Christmas, I'd say it's a safe assumption."

Hermione looked up at her parents who both had looks of shock and confusion on their face.

"What?" she asked finally.

Mrs. Granger laughed. "Hermione, I love you dearly, but sometimes you're scary."

"Mom!" Hermione squealed, giving her a fake look of hurt.

"Well at least we know she's been studying," Mr. Granger said proudly.

After opening the remainder of her presents, Hermione went up to her room to change out of her pajamas. When she pushed open her door, she saw a large, brown owl sitting patiently on the wind`owsill. She quickly ran to the window and let it in. It looked like a school owl and it was holding a small package. She untied the bundle from the owl and placed it on her bed.

"You can come in and rest a bit if you'd like." Hermione told the owl, but it hooted happily and flew out the window again.

Hermione shrugged. Perhaps the owl was in a hurry to get back to its own family. She supposed owls must want to be with their family on Christmas too. She turned her attention to the small brown parcel now lying on her bed. There was a note attached. She pulled it off and unfolded it.

"Dear Hermione,

I hope this reaches you before Christmas. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get you anything since there isn't exactly a gift store here in the castle, but fortunately Fred and George decided to sneak into Hogsmeade this weekend. I don't know how they managed it, but they did.

I asked them to pick me up something for you while they were there. I knew exactly what I should get you and fortunately they sold them in town. You'd be proud; I read about them in one of the library books you showed me a few weeks ago. In any case, I hope you like it and I hope your holidays are going well.

Harry"

Hermione beamed at the letter. She picked up the small package and unwrapped it. It was a book, completely unmarked. She could tell that the cover was made of dragon hide, but nothing else revealed anything about the book's true purpose. She opened it and saw that all the pages were blank as well. A note fell out of the center. Curious, Hermione picked up the note and read the first few lines.

"Thank you for purchasing the Young Wizards Dragon Keeper Diary, perfect for writing your most intimate secrets without fear from prying muggle or wizard eyes."

Hermione grinned again. "What a perfect gift." She thought. "I can't believe he got me this and all I got him was a box of chocolate frogs."

As she continued reading, she found that the plain green book had many magical properties. Although there seemed to be a finite number of pages, the diary claimed to never run out of writing space. She could seal it by saying the magic word "Imperamora" and then only someone with a wand saying the same magic word could open it. In addition, she had to write her name and own secret password in the last page of the book. Since the diary immediately concealed all of her entries once the book shut, she would have to write in her password on the last page anytime she wanted to write an entry or read an old entry.

Hermione read the rest of the instructions eagerly and when she flipped over the page to see if there was anything else, she found another written message from Harry instead.

"Hermione,

I thought since you liked reading so much you would enjoy writing for a change. You and Ron are my best friends and I hope we stay like that forever, but I'm sure there will be plenty of times when we can't be there for each other. So use this diary whenever you want to get something off your chest but you aren't able to talk to us about it."

Hermione put the note down and beamed again, despite herself. She pulled a quill and inkbottle out of the bag she brought from school and turned to the last page. There was a name and password line already there. She wrote "Hermione Granger" on the name line and on the password line, "Harry and Ron and Hermione Friends Forever."

She watched the words she wrote shimmer for a moment and then fade away. Then some new words replaced them. "Hello, Hermione: Your Diary is Now Unlocked."

Hermione hated to admit it but her father had succeeded in making her feel guilty about the fact that up until Christmas, she hadn't done any studying. So she spent most of the remainder of the holidays doing the little bit of schoolwork that her professors had assigned and catching up on her personal studies on magical society. She remembered that she had made a commitment to herself at the beginning of the term that she would be the best witch of her year. She couldn't afford to slack off. She was supposed to be taking the castle by storm. She wasn't going to let Pansy Parkinson or Draco Malfoy ever think that they were better than her just because they were born into wizarding families. She was a Granger and as her father always said: Grangers could do anything.

The rest of the holidays went along without incident. Her parents were still working most of the time but they were sure to spend as much time with their daughter as possible since they knew they wouldn't see her again until the end of the school term. Her mother took her on a "girls' night out" and they went to see a movie and spend some quality mother/daughter bonding time at a local restaurant. She caught up on current muggle events with her father and they had several spirited debates.

Though Hermione definitely enjoyed her time at home, she was ready to go back to school when the holidays ended. She wanted to spend more time with her friends as well as continue her studies. She began to remember why she preferred reading to television and though her parents weren't the worst cooks, she definitely missed the Hogwarts food. Also, as much as she loved her father, she felt that he was overzealous about her education and it was beginning to drive her mad. It was bad enough she was putting pressure on herself; she didn't need his help. All and all, on the last day of the holidays, Hermione was more than pleased to be heading back as she repacked her books in the new bag her parents had bought her for Christmas.

After several hours of driving, the Grangers were once again at Kings Cross Station. Mr. Granger was watching another set of wizarding students disappear casually through the barrier between Platform Nine and Platform Ten.

"I'll never understand how nobody notices all of the wizarding activity that's going on around here," he said quietly to his wife and daughter.

"Sometimes they do," Hermione confirmed. "But the Ministry of Magic takes care of that when it happens." She looked at the clock on the wall in front of her. "Well, I'd better get going. I want to find Parvati or Lavender before the train leaves so I'll have someplace to sit."

Both Mr. and Mrs. Granger hugged and kissed their daughter. "Good-bye dear. Have a safe trip. Send us a letter when you get there." Mrs. Granger said cheerily.

Mr. Granger bent down to look Hermione in the eyes. "Have a good term Hermione and keep up the good work. I know I don't tell you this often enough, but I'm very proud of you. Always remember that you're a Granger, and Grangers can do anything."

Hermione nodded fervently at this. She hugged her father again and then started off towards the hidden entrance to Platform 9 ¾.

A/N: And now you know what Hermione did at Christmas time.

Review, please.


	10. Narcoryn Potion

Chapter Summary: Hermione tries to help Harry with his chronic nightmares. Will this end well?

Lavender, Parvati, and Padma were surprisingly quiet on the train ride back to Hogwarts, so Hermione took this time to catch up on her reading. Every now and again she'd glance over her book and find the three girls staring at her. At first she thought they were still seething over her relationship with Harry, but then she noticed that the looks they were giving her seemed to denote curiosity and shock as opposed to anger. Finally Lavender spoke.

"Uh… Hermione," she started timidly.

Hermione put her book down. "Yes…"

"Is it true… what happened at the quidditch game?"

Hermione didn't answer. Did they know that Snape had tried to kill Harry? "What do you mean?"

"Well we heard… that is Padma got a letter from one of her Ravenclaw friends at the beginning of the holidays who heard it from a Hufflepuff boy who overheard Ron and Harry talking about… well… that you saved Harry's life."

"When his broom was acting up," Parvati finally blurted out. "You did something to help him. I remember seeing you running down the stairs to the field."

Hermione was speechless. She guessed that she shouldn't be surprised. It wouldn't have been long before people found out what happened, especially at Hogwarts.

"So it's true!" Lavender took Hermione's stunned silence to be an answer. "You stopped his broom from throwing him off. You saved his life."

"How did you do it? What was wrong with Harry's broom? How did you stop it?" Padma stammered.

"Well I…" Hermione knew she couldn't tell them that Snape had been cursing the broom. "I just used a special charm to dispel jinxes placed on brooms. We think one of the Slytherins cursed it." This, Hermione supposed, was enough of the truth to sound believable.

"You actually saved Harry Potter's life. Hermione, you're incredible," Lavender said sincerely. "We uh… wanted to apologize to you. We've been so mean to you lately because we were… well… jealous of you and Harry."

"Me mostly," Parvati added quickly. "I was trying so hard to get Harry's attention and then all the sudden you were with him without even trying. But I guess I can see why he likes you. I mean, you are the cleverest witch in our year."

Hermione stared at her roommate in shock. " Are you kidding?" She said. " Harry doesn't like me that way. And I don't like him that way. We're only friends. Besides I-" She stopped, blushing. She had almost said that she liked Ron, but held back just in time. It was official, she sighed to herself. She liked Ron. No point in pretending anymore. But just because she wasn't lying to herself anymore didn't mean she wasn't going to lie to her roommates about it.

" What were you going to say?" Lavender said suspiciously. Hermione shook her head. " It's nothing." She stared at her shoes. "Well, I don't think I'll ever get him to really notice me anyway," Parvati admitted. "I should stop making a fool of myself."

"Yes, yes you should," Hermione thought to herself.

"Then again…" Parvati had a gleam in her eyes. "If Harry really isn't taken then that means I still have a chance."

Hermione returned to her reading as the three girls started giggling again. It seemed that everything was back to normal with her two roommates. She wondered if that was a good or bad thing.

Hermione stuck her head out of the horseless carriage that was taking her, Lavender, Parvati, and Padma back to Hogwarts castle. The wind whipped through her thick hair. It was a cool winter wind but it felt good on her face. She smiled as the castle came into view. She felt like she was home again. She looked up at the towers and saw something flying around. At first it looked like an owl, but then she realized it was someone on a broomstick.

It could only be one person. "That boy," Hermione hissed to herself but she smiled anyway.

When the carriage stopped, she took off towards the main doors as quickly as her overloaded schoolbag would allow.

"Hermione, where are you going?" Lavender called after her, but by this time Hermione was inside the castle. She bounded up four flights of stairs to where Gryffindor Tower was but she didn't head for the portrait of the fat lady. Instead she rounded another corner and headed for the familiar statue. By the time she kicked the shin, she was panting and her bag had hit against her one too many times but she didn't care.

She ran up the stairs that led to the ramparts and pushed open the trap door. The wind was blowing much stronger. She pulled out her wand and performed the wind ceasing charm. Then she looked around to see Harry, whizzing up and down, back and forth through the air.

"Oy, welcome back," he said, as he spotted her. Hermione shook her finger at him, scolding, with a smile.

"You're nutters; you know that don't you?"

Harry jumped down expertly and grabbed his broomstick out of the air. "Glad to see you too. How was your trip?"

"My dad tried to drive me insane, but other than that, fine. How were your holidays?"

"Well actually, that's a bit of a story." Harry said taking a seat. He proceeded to tell Hermione all about how he had gotten an invisibility cloak from an anonymous benefactor on Christmas. He'd used to cloak to try to get in the restricted section of the library to search for Nicolas Flame, but almost got caught by Filch, Mrs. Norris, and Snape. In trying to escape, he had found a remarkable mirror, the Mirror of Erised, which allowed him to see his family, all of his family. It had been such an alluring vision that he had gone back two more nights to see it. The third night though, Professor Dumbledore himself had caught Harry, and though he wasn't angry with him, he asked him not to go looking for the mirror again.

"I've heard of that. I read all about it in 'Rare and Powerful Magical Objects,'" Hermione said. Harry gave her a knowing look but she ignored him. "You'd do good to read it yourself. The invisibility cloak is in there too. It has powers you're not even aware of, like the ability to cover more than just one or two people; it can magically cover just about anything of reasonable size that you want it to. Anyway, the Mirror of Erised is the only one of its kind. It's one of the few magical objects in the world that was never duplicated. It's mysterious but also very very dangerous. Some people have gone mad staring at it. Oooo, Harry I'm glad Dumbledore convinced you not to go back there. Besides, sneaking around three nights in a row? If Filch had caught you, he'd have your head. Still it would have been nice if you had found something on Flamel."

"I see being with your parents all this time has renewed your ability to talk faster than a snitch can fly." Harry laughed. "Don't worry; I don't think I ever want to go near that mirror again. Ever since then… I've been having nightmares."

Hermione bit her bottom lip. "Oh Harry, that's awful. What are they about?"

"My parents… dying. It's vague, but I know that's what the dream is about."

"I'm so sorry. That's such a terrible thing to have to relive."

"Hopefully it will stop soon. Maybe when I'm busy with school and quidditch…" Harry had a look in his eyes that said he thought this was wishful thinking.

"Maybe, I could make a sleeping potion like the one Snape was telling us about that gives the drinker a dreamless sleep," Hermione offered.

"I don't want anything that Snape would suggest." Harry shuddered. "I think I'll pass. By the way, thank you for the Christmas gift." It was obvious he wanted to change the subject.

"Thanks for yours as well." Hermione added. "I really appreciate it. Sometimes I think you actually understand me."

"I know… scary isn't it?"

"Where's Ron?" She asked, feeling her heart skip as she looked around.

"Down in the common room eating some snacks that Fred and George snuck from the kitchens," Harry told her.

"I swear that boy is always eating. Well I'm going to go get him off his duff. We should go to the library. Term will be starting again tomorrow and then we won't have any time to look for Flamel."

"Hermione, it's the last day of break…"

"All the more reason to head to the library now," Hermione reasoned.

Harry sighed. It was obvious that going to the library hadn't been in his plans, but he mounted his broom and took off again.

Hermione stared after him. She was worried about Harry, the nightmares he told her about. She wished there was something she could do. Then again, maybe there was something. After all she was the cleverest witch of her year. Harry was her best friend. She should help him, even if he acted like he didn't want help.

Snape never paid any attention to Hermione in potions anymore. She had performed so flawlessly in every single lesson that even he couldn't find anything to complain about. So he completely ignored the honor student and instead focused on tormenting Neville, who could barely stand a caldron right side up. Usually it would annoy Hermione that Snape never called on her or acknowledged her during class, but this time she didn't care. In fact she was counting on the fact that Snape wouldn't even check up on her during this particular double potions lesson.

She wasn't making a forgetfulness potion like all the other students. Although it was a very difficult potion to make and Snape had alluded to the fact that it would be part of their finals, she didn't care. She knew she could make it if she needed to and that's all that mattered. Hermione had a better way to spend this time. She was making a special sleeping potion she had found in a library book called "Modern Magical Medicine." There were multiple kinds of sleeping potions, many of which gave the drinker a dreamless sleep. The problem was, most of these knocked a person out instantly, and that wasn't what she wanted.

The potion was for Harry of course. For the past several days, he had come to breakfast looking like he hadn't slept at all. He'd always shrug it off saying that it was just the quidditch practices tiring him out, but Hermione knew the truth. He was still having nightmares and they were keeping him up. She didn't know how to talk to him about it. It seemed so personal and how could she relate to his problem. She'd never lost anyone close to her, and he had lost both his parents. He'd never even known them. The only thing she could offer was to make him a sleeping potion, which he constantly refused for one reason or another.

"He's so stubborn," Hermione thought as she stirred the potion. "He always has to do things the difficult way. Why can't he just let me help him? Then I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble."

Her plan was simple. If Harry wouldn't voluntarily do something about the dreams, then she'd help him without his knowledge. The sleeping potion she'd found was called Narcoryan and was specifically designed not to induce sleep instantly but rather give the drinker a deeper, dreamless sleep when they went to bed naturally. The effects could last anywhere from a few days to several weeks. She would slip some in his drink at dinner and hopefully he would never know. Snape swept by her table but didn't take any notice to that fact that Hermione's potion was a completely different color from what it should have been.

Harry leaned over and whispered, "Are you even doing the assignment or is this some extra credit potion that you've whipped up?"

"Potter!" Snape snapped immediately. "Just because you can't manage to do a simple potion on your own does not give you license to employ the services of Ms. Granger. Five points from Gryffindor."

Harry sighed. "I wish he ignored me like he ignored you," he mumbled before returning his attention to the caldron in front of him.

Hermione looked down at "Modern Magical Medicine" and read the last few instructions. It told her the potion needed to boil for another three hours. That wouldn't do at all. She only had a half hour left in the class and she very well couldn't take a caldron full of potion with her. Snape would definitely be suspicious of that. The potion looked fine, exactly how it was supposed to be, according to the book. She supposed that the boiling time was needed to make it more potent. Well, she didn't need it to be all that strong, it was only for one person and all it had to do was give him a few good nights of sleep. She poured some into a bottle while Harry and Ron weren't looking and tucked it in her bag. Now all she had to do was wait.

"I hope you're practicing hard for your next quidditch game, Potter," Draco Malfoy said as he strolled up to the Gryffindor table at dinner. It was like clockwork. Malfoy couldn't let a day go by without making some snide comment to Harry. His two lackeys, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were with him. Hermione rarely saw him without them, unless he was with Pansy when she came to harass Hermione.

This time though, she was glad Malfoy was there. In fact, she had been counting on it. Both Harry and Ron were distracted from their dinner while they argued with the three bullies. She pulled a small vile out of her pocket and clandestinely slipped its contents into Harry's drink. It was the sleeping potion. The dose she gave him was supposed to last for two weeks but she figured that because it hadn't been allowed to boil for the required length of time, it would only last a few days. In either case, she had already decided to slip him more of the potion when it became apparent he was having the nightmares again. It was always obvious because he came to breakfast extremely tired. Hopefully that would change starting tomorrow morning.

"Can you believe him?" Harry said as he turned back to the table.

Hermione jumped a little as she came back to reality. "I don't know why you bother with that git."

Harry took a sip from his goblet. "He's the one who comes over here. You don't see me going over to his table."

"He only does it because he knows I can't punch him with all the professors watching," Ron added between bites.

Harry finished his juice in one gulp. It magically filled up again within moments. "Good, he's had it all. Now we'll see how good it works."

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked in shock the next morning at breakfast. Instead of looking well rested as she had hopped, Harry looked as if he hadn't even gotten ten minutes worth of sleep the previous night.

"I don't know. I couldn't sleep at all last night," Harry admitted as he laid his head on the table. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Was it the nightmare again?" She asked concerned. She didn't know why her potion wasn't working.

Harry shrugged. "I guess. It was like I just couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard I tried and when I did, the least little thing, like Neville's snoring, would wake me up again. I'm glad it's Saturday. I'm going to try and take a nap later on."

"Oh no, something had to have gone wrong." Hermione thought frantically. She jumped up from the table.

"Hey where are you going?" Ron called after her.

"Library," Hermione said hastily.

"But we were going to see Hagrid. We can look for Flamel later you know," Ron shouted at Hermione as she retreated from the Great Hall. "That girl spends way too much time in the library."

Harry's head hit the table again. "Ugh…."

Hermione had spent almost the entire day in the library. She found another book called "Common Magical Maladies, Ailments, and Side Effects" and looked up the Narcoryan Potion.

"Narcoryan Potion is a very unique magical sleeping aid in that unlike most sleeping potions, it does not induce immediate sleep. It instead helps the drinker by giving them a deeper, dreamless rest during the time they naturally go to sleep. In addition, the potion can last for several weeks. The most common problems associated with narcoryan is when the potion has the exact opposite of its intended use. The drinker will be unable to sleep at all. This is usually caused by improper preparation of the potion. Narcoryan must simmer for at least three hours to prevent this from happening."

Hermione slammed the book shut. She couldn't believe what she'd done. Instead of helping Harry, she'd made things twice as bad. At least he was getting some sleep before, even if he was having nightmares. Now he wasn't able to sleep at all. She was so ashamed of herself.

Hermione spent the rest of the day trying to find a cure or some way to reserve the sleeping potion. She didn't want to use another potion, that would require too much time, plus she couldn't risk trying to slip it into his drink again. That only left spells.

She poured through endless books looking for the right one. The only time she stopped her hunt was when Ron and Harry arrived for a bit to search for Flamel. Harry still looked haggard and they didn't stay long because of this. Hermione felt even worse, so she stayed at the library late into the evening. Madam Pince kept sweeping by. She obviously wanted to close the library but Hermione ignored her. She was resigned to stay until she found what she was looking for or until the librarian threw her out, whichever came first.

"I see we're studying hard, Ms. Granger," came a voice from behind her. Hermione turned and saw a long silvery beard. She looked up into the face of Professor Albus Dumbledore. His blue eyes seemed to twinkle and there was a slight smile on his face.

"Pro... Professor, what are you doing here?" Hermione stuttered. She realized almost immediately how impertinent her question had been. He could be wherever he wanted. It wasn't like he needed to explain himself to a first year student.

Dumbledore, however, did not seem to mind the question. "I often find that the school library is very well stocked with books on a variety of topics. I like to find new material on subjects that interest me every now and again. Sometimes even a professor, or a headmaster like myself, can learn a thing or two. What is that muggle saying: you can lead a dog to water but you can't make him learn new tricks?"

Hermione didn't bother correcting him. She was still in shock. She'd never actually seen the headmaster up close or talked to him in person and he was a little intimidating. After all, he was said to be one of the greatest wizards of the era.

Dumbledore eyed the piles of books stacked on Hermione's table. "Exams seem to have come a bit early this year, or perhaps you've decided to take your O. W. L.'s a bit early?"

Hermione smiled weakly. "Oh no, sir. I was just doing a bit of… um… research. But I haven't had any luck."

"Yes, Madam Pince told me on the way in that you've been here all day and show no signs of leaving anytime soon. She suggested that there might be something I could do to speed you along."

"Well it's kind of complicated…"

Dumbledore laughed. "My dear, I happen to be a halfway decent wizard. I think I may be of some use if you allow me."

Hermione thought about this for a moment. She didn't know how much she should tell the professor. Would he be mad at her for using a potion on a fellow student without his knowledge? She decided to at least try to get the answer she needed without telling him what had actually happened.

"A friend of mine is having chronic nightmares so he needs a sleeping potion. I tried narcoryan but it backfired."

"Ah I see, you did not let it simmer for the prescribed amount of time, so it's having the opposite effect. I've seen it happen many times. Don't worry, my dear, improperly prepared narcoryan only lasts for 24 hours."

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. Now all she had to do is mix another batch of the potion the right way.

Dumbledore sat down. "So your friend asked you for a sleeping potion for his problem?"

"Well… uh… no. I just figured this would be the best thing to help him."

"Well if I may be so bold, Ms. Granger; I don't think a potion is the best way to help your friend."

"Oh, is there a spell I could use instead?" Hermione asked eagerly.

Dumbledore laughed. "Not exactly. What your friend needs is something far more powerful than any magical solution. If he is having chronic nightmares, as you have said, it is a sign that there is something troubling him, something that he can't handle on his own. He needs someone, a true friend, to be there for him. Only that can really help him. Perhaps you can be that friend?"

For a moment, she thought the headmaster was joking, but he had a serious look in his blue eyes. "But Professor, how can I help? I don't know what I could say or do that could help him. I'm not very good with things like that," she admitted. "I'm a good witch; that's it. If I can't find a magical solution then I don't think I'm much use."

" Miss Granger, to be a good witch, you must learn that there are many times when magic just isn't the answer," Dumbledore said soothingly. "There are still forces out there that are far more powerful, such as friendship. You have to understand all of these things if you are going to reach your true potential."

Hermione nodded numbly and she realized for the first time that she had been going about things all wrong. She had never really tried to talk to Harry about his dreams. She'd offered him everything else except an ear to listen to his concerns. She had been too afraid that she wouldn't know what to say to him. But Dumbledore was right, what Harry really needed was a friend. She knew that Ron never really tried to talk about it with him, so it was up to her.

Madame Pince came up to the table. "Headmaster, I really must insist…"

"Yes of course, Irma. Ms. Granger and I were about to leave." Dumbledore said coolly. He stood. "If you'd like to continue your research, you can take some of these books back to your common room I'm sure."

Hermione shook her head as she stood quickly. "No sir. I don't think I'll need them, not for what I have to do."

Dumbledore smiled as Hermione hurried off towards the door. "Oh and Mrs. Granger," he called after her.

Hermione turned around just as she was about to exit. "Yes sir?"

"Tell Harry that I hope he feels better soon and that I look forward to seeing his next quidditch game."

Hermione smiled. It wasn't surprising that the headmaster had known all along.

It was late when Hermione arrived in the common room after her conversation with Dumbledore. The only light was that of the slowly dying fire. It seemed that everyone had gone to bed.

Hermione wasn't tired at all. She walked over to one of the chairs facing the fire and was about to drop into it when something startled her.

"Well you're out late." Harry was sitting in the chair she was about to plop down in and she hadn't even noticed.

"Oh Harry, you scared me. Why is everyone sneaking up on me tonight?"

"Well I figured I should say something before you sat on me," Harry retorted as Hermione took another seat next to his. "Where have you been, anyway? Don't tell me you spent all this time in the library."

"Yeah, actually I did," Hermione sighed. "Still can't sleep?"

Harry shook his head. "Not really…"

They sat there silently for a moment. Then suddenly Harry asked. "Hermione is there something wrong? You've been acting really weird today. Do you want to talk about it?"

A tear ran down Hermione's face. "I can't believe this. I'm such a terrible friend. I don't take any time to try to talk to Harry about his nightmares but he's worried about me even though he's got problems of his own."

Harry finally noticed that she was crying. "Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked in shock.

"Oh Harry, it's all my fault. I wanted to help you by finding a way to end your nightmares so I made the narcoryan potion for you and I slipped it in your drink last night so you wouldn't know because I know you said you didn't want a sleeping potion but I thought it would help but it turned out that I made the potion wrong so instead of giving you dreamless sleep it made you not be able to sleep and it was totally and completely my fault and I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd be mad at me so I spent all day at the library trying to figure out a way to reverse the potion without you knowing and all this time what I should have been doing was trying to talk to you about your dreams instead of avoiding the topic because I was afraid of not being able to say the right thing to you." Hermione started crying again. "You're such a good friend to me and I just wanted to do the same but I did it all wrong."

Harry had been friends with Hermione for several weeks and was used to her talking extremely fast when she was nervous, but he never knew what to do when she became this emotional. It took him a while to dissect everything she had just spilled out.

"Hermione," he said finally. "I know you were trying to help, and I appreciate it, but you can't just slip a sleeping potion into my drink without me knowing."

"I know… I know… It was totally and completely wrong of me, and I'm so sorry Harry. It should wear off in a couple of hours, I promise."

"Well that's good."

"Are you mad at me?" Hermione said, wiping the remaining tears off her face.

"No, just promise not to do any more magic on me without my permission."

"I promise."

"Well, I guess I should try to go to bed now." Harry stood, but Hermione stopped him.

"Wait Harry, since we're both up, maybe we could talk."

Harry sighed again. "Hermione…"

"Harry, I know it's difficult," she cut him off, "but if you just keep it bottled up, it's not going to go away. It's just going to keep eating away inside you. We're friends. We're supposed to be able to talk."

Harry sat down again. "I know, but I don't think there is anything you can really do to help me."

"I can listen."

Harry smiled. He realized he hadn't really talked to either of his friends at length about how these dreams were really affecting him. Hermione seemed like she earnestly wanted to do something to help him. She'd even gone as far as to try and sneak him a sleeping potion.

"You know, it's more than just losing my mom and dad," he started. "It's almost as if I have no family… no real identity. The only thing I really know about me is what others tell me. I wish I had someone I could really call family besides Aunt Petunia. That way I could know what my mom and dad were really like."

Hermione nodded and Harry continued. They talked well into the night, well after the fire had burned out and Hermione had replaced it with her own magical bluebell flame. When they finally headed for their separate dormitories, both Harry and Hermione felt like a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

Hermione pushed open the door to her room and was met with the thunderous snores of Lavender. She smiled. Things were back to normal.

A/N: Aww! What a sweet friendship moment! And thanks to xxBlacksxxDaughterxx for encouraging me to finish this story after nobody reviewed it. This chapter is dedicated to her! Now would you be so kind to review?


	11. An Unusual Friendship

Chapter Summary: Hermione and Ron actually have to become better friends at some point, and what better way then while trying to help out their mutual friend, Harry Potter.

"I hate this game," Hermione muttered as she stared down at the wizard's chess board. Against her will, she'd started playing the game with Ron while Harry went to quidditch practices. She had been to many of Harry's practices and it was really always the same thing everytime. They would run through on-field plays and then let the balls fly freely as the played against each other. It would sometimes get boring for Hermione. And to top it off, it was nasty out today. Cold and rainy. She didn't want to catch anything.

For once, Hermione wasn't looking forward to sitting and reading quietly for a few hours. Over the past few weeks she had grown to like having someone to hang out with. Of course she still always read, but since she had friends now, it wasn't something she had to do just to have something to occupy her time. When Harry was around, she hung out with him and Ron, and sometimes just him. But when there was no Harry, it was back to the same thing as before. Just her. Lonely Hermione.

Ron always had someone else to do things with. His rommates, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas were always up for a game of wizard's chess. But today, Neville was serving detention with Snape for something klutsy that he had done in class. Seamus and Dean were both out watching the Gryffindor quidditch practice. To her total, and complete pleasant surprise, Ron had suggested that she play against him because he was tired of only having one opponent.

Hermione used Harry's chess pieces because she didn't have ones of her own. The problem was that wizard chessmen talked and it was always very distracting. They kept shouting directions and suggestions at her and this made it much harder than muggle chess. She'd read several strategy books on the game, but that didn't seem to help.

Ron had perfect control over his chessmen and he liked to rub this fact in her face. He had consistently beaten Hermione in every single game they played and he seemed to get some sort of twisted pleasure out of this. Hermione was beginning to remember why she hated Ron to begin with, before she figured out that she liked him.

"He's so smug. Just because he can win at this stupid, pointless, barbaric game doesn't make him smarter than me," she thought during one of their matches.

"Are you trying to will your pieces to move with your mind?" Ron teased. Hermione had been staring at the board for quite some time. She scowled. She was so used to being the one who was better than Ron. And she was the one who pissed him off and made him mad. What was wrong with today? It was all the other way around. Ron was teasing her. The cute angry look he usually when he was around her was replaced with a smirk that she found somehow very attractive. She brushed these thoughts aside.

"Shut it," Hermione snapped.

Ron grinned from ear to ear. He was trying to intimidate her. This match had lasted longer than any of the others they'd played. Both of them had captured several pieces. There was a good chance Hermione could win if she kept her wits about her. She just needed to open up the king.

Then she got an idea. "Knight to H-3."

"What in the blazes are you doing?" Her remaining knight shouted as it begrudgingly obeyed.

"Check!" Hermione said gleefully. It was of course a trick. She knew as well as the knight did that she couldn't checkmate the king with this strategy. She just needed a diversion.

"Let me take him, let me crush him," shouted Ron's queen. This is exactly what Hermione wanted.

Ron stared at the chessboard. "Hmm, this is going to require some thought."

"Hope you're not trying to move the pieces with your mind, Ron. I hear that doesn't work." Hermione teased.

"Shut it, Hermione." Ah, that was the adorable angry look she knew.

Suddenly Harry came through the common room entrance and headed straight for them. Hermione could tell instantly that something was wrong, but Ron wasn't paying attention.

"Don't talk to me for a moment. I need to concentrate," he said waving away Harry as he sat down. Then he finally noticed the look on his face. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible."

"Snape," Harry hissed. "I think he's after me again. Get this. He's decided to referee the next quidditch game. The others, they think it's just so that he can be biased towards Hufflepuff so that we won't overtake Slytherin in the house cup, but I think he just wants another crack at me."

"I think it's both," Ron said.

"You're not helping," Hermione snapped, though she had to admit he had a point. They had both completely forgotten about the game. She turned to Harry. "Don't play."

"Say you're ill," Ron added.

Harry shook his head at this.

"Pretend to break your leg," Hermione offered.

"Really break your leg," Ron said.

But Harry wouldn't hear any of it. He wouldn't back out of the game, not with the team depending on him. They would have continued to think of ways to get Harry to back off if the sight of Neville bunny-hopping through the portrait entrance hadn't distracted them. It looked like someone had performed the leg-locker curse on him. Hermione leapt up to help him.

"Poor Neville. Everyone always picks on him because he's such a bad wizard. Everyone picks on me because I'm such a good wizard. People can be so cruel if you're not exactly like them." She pulled out her wand. "Locomortor Returnus." Neville's legs sprung apart instantly. Aside from his pride, he didn't seem badly hurt. Hermione wished that the other students would stop laughing. It was bad enough as it was.

Hermione led him over to where Ron and Harry were still sitting. Harry had a semi-shocked expression on his face; Ron was trying hard not to laugh. Hermione gave Ron a "don't you dare laugh" look, and he immediately straightened up.

Neville explained that it was Draco Malfoy who had performed the curse on him. Hermione tried to convince him to tell their head of house, Professor McGonagall, but Neville would hear none of it. He was afraid Malfoy would just retaliate more.

"You've got to stand up to him, Neville. He's used to walking all over people but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier." Ron said. Hermione nodded in agreement.

But Harry, seeming to sense that Neville was on the verge of tears, pulled a chocolate toad from his robe and handed it to Neville saying. "You're worth twelve of Malfoy. The sorting hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy, in stinking Slytherin."

Hermione smiled. It never ceased to amaze her how kind Harry could be, even if he was a bit thick headed at times. He always stood up for Neville when Malfoy or the other Slytherins were picking on him.

Neville headed for bed, leaving the famous witches and wizards card with Harry.

"Dumbledore again," Harry sighed, flipping over the card absent-mindedly.

Hermione was about to continue the quidditch conversation that Neville had interuppted when Harry caught their attention again.

"I've found him! I've found Flamel! I told you I read the name somewhere before. I read it on the train coming here. Listen to this." Harry began to read the back of the card and then Hermione understood. Nicolas Flamel had worked with Dumbledore in alchemy. Alchemy was the key. And then it hit her; she had read Flamel's name too. She had forgotten all about it, but it was the night she and Harry had first decided to be friends.

Hermione jumped up. "Stay there," and without another word, she bolted for her dormitory.

"Hermione?" Lavender said in shock as Hermione burst through the door. She and Parvati were already there.

Hermione started tossing things wildly out of her trunk. "Can't talk now; gotta find something." She only hoped that she hadn't returned it to the library. Then at the bottom of the trunk, she saw it, a huge book titled "1000 Years in Alchemy."

She heaved the book out of her trunk and flew back down the stairs, slamming it on the table. Harry and Ron jumped.

"I never thought to look in here. I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

"Light?" Ron repeated in shock.

"Shut it, Ron." Hermione hissed and she began flipping through the pages. "I know it's in here. I know it. Oh where is that bloody chapter. Ah here it is." She scanned the page. "I knew it. I knew it. Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone." She beamed at the two boys, expecting praise for her discovery but instead she received blank stares. Neither Harry nor Ron knew what she was talking about so she pushed the book over at them so that they could read it. The Sorcerer's Stone was a magical rock that could turn metal to gold and create the Elixir of Life, which made the drinker immortal.

After they read this, it all became clear to the three of them what was going on inside Hogwarts. Dumbledore was keeping Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone and Snape was trying to steal it. No wonder he would do anything, including trying to kill Harry, to get to it. Now they knew what they were up against, but how would they prove it before Snape tried to kill Harry again?

It was obvious that Harry had made up his mind. He wasn't going to back down from the upcoming quidditch match or from Snape. Hermione was more worried than she'd ever been. Snape had already tried to kill him once and now that he was going to be in the air with Harry, he could do anything.

She sat in the common room one evening, pondering this. It was still raining on and off, so once again she decided against watching Harry practice. And to her surprise again, Ron joined her shortly.

"Oy, want to play chess?" He asked merrily. Hermione had been thinking about Nicholas Flamel and the sorcerer's stone. Harry's life was in danger.

"No," Hermione snapped. She could have punched him for being in such a good mood while Harry's life was in danger. She had always wanted Ron to like her as more than just Harry's annoying friend, and now that he was finally starting to come around, she felt irritated by it. Standing there across from her actually looking happy for once. Of course, being Ron, he had chosen the wrong moment to do this.

"Hey, I promise to go easy on you," Ron pressed. "Not that you need it, you almost beat me the other night with that move you…"

"How can you think about chess at a time like this?" Hermione hissed. "In a few days, Harry is going to be up in the air with Snape trying to kill him. Doesn't that bother you? What kind of friend are you anyway? If you were in trouble, Harry would do everything in his power to try and help you but you act like you don't even care what happens to him." Hermione immediately regreted what she said. Of course Ron cared about Harry. He just wasn't a worry wort the way she was. She hoped dearly that Ron didn't hate her again after she said that. Feeling her face go hot with shame, she turned slightly away from him.

Ron looked at her in shock. He plopped down in the armchair beside her. "Of course I care about what happens to Harry," he sighed. "I'm just as worried about this as you are. I really am. But I don't know what to do. Harry's not going to back down and once he's up in the air, there's nothing I can do to help. I don't know if you've noticed but I'm nowhere near as good a wizard as you and even if I was, I don't know any spells that could stop Snape while he's in the air. It takes powerful magic to stop a broomstick, you know that."

Hermione thought about this for a moment. "You're right. But we can't just sit here and do nothing. There's got to be a way to help Harry when Snape tries to attack him."

"You're the clever one. If you can think of something, I'm all ears. I'll do anything to help Harry."

Hermione could tell he was sincere. It seemed that she had underestimated how worried he had been about their friend. She thought long and hard, trying to formulate a plan, some way to give Harry an edge… and then it came to her.

"Ron do you remember when Neville lost control of his broom during our first flying lesson?"

Ron nodded vaguely. "Yeah… so?"

"I've got a plan." Hermione grinned slyly.

Ron hadn't known about what really happened during their first flying lesson even though Hermione had eventually told Harry. So she explained what Pansy had done, performing the levitation spell on Neville to make everyone think he had just lost control. If Pansy could do it, then it should work for them too. They didn't need to jinx Snape's broom, just Snape. They decided that night to start practicing the leg-locker curse. It was simple, but it would definitely distract Snape if he tried to curse Harry's broom again, and that was all they needed.

The next night, while Harry was at practice, Hermione and Ron left the Gryffindor common room and ventured down to the empty transfiguration classroom to practice the curse. Hermione already knew it, but Ron was having difficulties and they both agreed it would be best if both of them mastered it. Besides, it would give Hermione more time to get to know Ron. It seemed he was starting to accept the fact that because they were both friends with Harry. He hadn't been seriously rude to Hermione for weeks. But still it would be nice to have an established relationship like what she had with Harry.

"Okay Ron, you'll have to try it on me since we don't have any other targets." Hermione told him as she stood against one of the walls. Ron raised an eyebrow, uncertain. "Don't worry, I know the counter-curse. I'll be alright. Now go ahead; it's Locomortor Mortis."

Ron tried, and tired, and tried. Over and over again, he called out the magical words, waving his wand frantically, but with no results.

"Ron you're not saying it right," Hermione said for about the hundredth time that night.

"I know I'm not saying it right," Ron snapped. "You telling me isn't helping." He plopped down in a nearby chair. "I give up."

Hermione stormed over to him. "You can't just quit. You need to keep practicing or you'll never learn how to do it properly."

"I don't think I ever will learn how to do it properly. I'm just no good at this. You of all people should know I'm not exactly the most adept when it comes to spell-work. I mean, you practically rub it in my face every day." He said, looking sad.

"I do not!" Hermione said indignantly. "What are you talking about?"

"Every day it's the same. Guess who's the first to get the difficult charm down, guess who's the first to transfigure her quill, guess who's the first person to finish her potion. It's always you, Hermione. No witch or wizard in our year can even come close. I don't even know why I bother. You can help Harry all by yourself. You don't need me. Neither of you do. I'm useless. Sometimes I wonder why Harry even hangs around with me. I mean, he's famous. You're smart and all the teachers love you and all the students are jealous of you so it's no wonder he respects you. But what am I good for? I can't even get one stupid spell to work." He looked so frustrated, he was going to cry.

Heartbroken, Hermione stared at him for a few moments. Of course she knew that Ron often got mad at her for being an overachiever but never in her wildest dreams did she think that he actually felt worthless. She stood, watching him awkardly for a few seconds. She was so used to him being insensitive about everything that she never once thought about the fact that he had feelings about things like this. She decided that it was time to stop being enemies with Ronald Weasley. He was a person just like her,and right now he needed a friend.

"Ron…" she started. "You're not useless. Why would you ever think that? You don't have to be a great wizard to be a great friend and that's what you are to Harry. That's why he likes you. If there is one thing I've learned about Harry, it's that he doesn't choose his friends by what they can do for him. If he did, Malfoy would be his friend."

Ron shuddered at that.

"Ron, you shouldn't compare yourself to me. Sure I'm good at doing spells and memorizing books, but there are things that you're good at too. You're great with strategy, that's why you keep beating me at wizard's chess. You're much braver than I am, that's why you could take on that mountain troll."

Ron, who was starting to look less hopeless, managed a slight grin. "I guess you're right."

"Look, Harry needs us, both of us. Snape is going to be up there with him and we both need to know the curse in case one of us misses. I know you can do it. It's just going to take some time. I tell you what, we'll stop for tonight and pick it up again tomorrow."

Ron nodded and they both left the room silently. As they headed back to Gryffindor Tower, Hermione became lost in thought again.

"Wow, I would have never guessed Ron would ever feel that way. It must feel awful to wonder whether or not you're good at anything. I mean at least I know I'm good with spells and potions. I've never had to worry about that. I guess having so many older brothers that have been in Hogwarts before him must make it difficult for him to carve a place for himself and make his own identity. It can't help that his best friend is famous and that I'm the class genius," she looked at Ron who was deep in thought. Once again, she could feel the heat return to her face. Then she blushed even more when she realized she was blushing. "Maybe he's not as big a jerk as I thought he was. I suppose I've been a bit hard on him. I've got to stop judging people so harshly. I should give Ron more of a chance. I mean, he'd do anything for Harry. That's got to mean something."

Ron gave the password and the portrait door swung open. "Hermione, do you really think we'll be able to help Harry if he does get in trouble."

"With his two best friends looking out for him, there's no way Snape will have a chance." Hermione said determinedly. "Wait here. I have something for you." She bolted up the stairs.

"Hermione?" Lavender said in shock as Hermione burst through the door. She and Parvati were already there.

Hermione started tossing things wildly out of her trunk again. "Can't talk now; gotta find something." She pulled out a small book and ran out the door again.

Lavender turned to Parvati in shock. "She keeps doing that."

Hermione ran back to Ron and handed him the book, which was titled "Curses and Counter-Curses."

"What's this for?" Ron asked as he flipped through the book.

"It's how I learned the leg-locker curse and the counter curse. It'll help you, I promise."

"Only you would think a book could help me," Ron said with a half grin.

"Just try it, Ron. It's worth a shot. You don't have to read the whole thing, just the part about the leg-locker curse."

"Oh, alright," Ron sighed. "But I resent being given more homework by you."

At that moment, Harry stepped through the portal. "Hey you two, what's up?"

Ron slipped the book up the back of his shirt casually. "Nothing; how was practice?"

"Ron, you've got it, you've finally got it!" Hermione said happily as she pulled out her wand to perform the spell that would undo the leg locker curse. Ron had successfully jinxed her for the third time that night. It had been three days since they started practicing but now it seemed that all their hard work had paid off. Hermione was immensley proud of him.

Before Hermione could un-jinx herself, Ron waved his wand again. "Locomortor Returnus." Hermione's legs returned to normal immediately.

"Ron, you've got the counter curse down too? That's a lot of progress since yesterday!" She could have hugged him.

Ron scratched his head awkwardly. "Well to tell you the truth, it's because I finally read that book you gave me. I figured it was worth a shot. There was actually a lot of good information in there. I guess it worked."

"See I told you! Reading isn't such a bad thing."

Ron nodded. "Yeah but it's not going to be a habit, trust me."

"Alright, I guess that's enough for tonight. Harry will be back soon." Hermione started for the door. "Unless you want me to teach you another spell?"

"No, no, no." Ron said immediately. "My head hurts from all that learning."

Hermione laughed as they started down the corridor. She'd spent three nights practicing the leg-locker curse with Ron and it seemed to have done wonders for their friendship. Of course they still fought, but at least they understood each other a little better. "I guess it's good that Harry's two best friends actually get along. I mean a while ago I thought I was going to kill Ron, then I figured I'd have to tolerate him since he was Harry's friend, but now… well now I guess he's my friend too. My other best friend. So I really do have to tolerate him now. What have I gotten myself into?" Hermione giggled at this thought.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked. The confused look on his lightly freckled face was so clueless, it made her smile. Oh, definitely Ron was her newest best friend.

"Nothing," Hermione said immediately, but she giggled again.

"Hermione sometimes I worry about you, but I guess you can be pretty cool sometimes."

"Thanks Ron, you're pretty tolerable yourself," Hermione quipped.

Ron nodded at first but then he thought for a moment. "Wait a minute…"

"Now don't forget, it's Locomortor Mortis," Hermione told Ron as they took a seat in the quidditch stands beside Neville and just above Parvati, Lavender, and Padma.

"I know, don't nag," Ron snapped. He was agitated and Hermione couldn't blame him. They were both nervous.

"Look," Ron said as the two teams converged on the center of the field. "I've never seen Snape look so mean."

The players were off and Hermione's full attention was on the game now. Nothing else mattered. Her eyes darted back and forth from Harry, who seamed to be looking frantically for the snitch, to Snape who vindictively awarded penalties to Hufflepuff for apparently no reason. She sat with her fingers crossed in her lap. "Come on Harry… just catch the snitch. Find it and catch it so we can all go home. Come on… you can do it. You're not the youngest seeker in a century for nothing."

The blood in Hermione's ears was pounding. All of the sound seemed to turn off as she watched Harry intently. The whole game seemed to be going in slow motion. It had only been a few minutes but it already seemed like forever. "No game in the world should be this intense."

Suddenly, Harry went into a dive. "Ron," she said catching his attention, "Harry!" She jumped out of her seat, watching Harry even more intensely. If he saw the snitch he was the only one. She couldn't see the flying gold ball anywhere. But she trusted Harry's seeker instincts and bounced from toe to toe in anxiety as Harry sped past Snape. And then, in a few fast paced seconds, it was over. Harry had done it… he had caught the snitch.

Hermione let out a gasp of excitement and relief. She turned to hug Ron, but he was gone. "Ron? Ron, where are you? The game's over. Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" Parvati, Lavender, and Padma were also cheering and Hermione ended up hugging Parvati instead.

Hermione looked around for Ron again and finally noticed that Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were also there. It seemed that they had all been in a fight. Even Neville had gotten in on the action from the look of things. He had a swollen eye and was out cold underneath his chair. Apparently Hermione had missed the whole thing because now Malfoy and his lackeys were leaving. They had their share of bruises too and it seemed they were leaving to lick their wounds.

"Oh Ron," she said, frantically helping him up. "How could you fight at a time like this?" Her voice shook. Anxious for Ron and still excited from the quidditch game.

"I just snapped," Ron said through a bloody nose. "He shouldn't have been talking about me and Harry." Hermione held him by the arm to keep him steady as they talked. She tried to ignore the butterflies fluttering in her stomach, being so close to Ron so often was having this effect on her.

"Well it's over now. Gryffindor won and that means we're ahead of the Slytherins. We're going to win the house cup for sure now. Let Malfoy chew on that!"

"And Harry's safe. That's all that matters now," Ron said gleefully. He jumped up on his seat to get a better view of the quidditch field. "Would ya look at that. The whole house is down there lifting Harry up on their shoulders." Ron started cheering. "Way to go Harry. I knew you could do it." He turned to Hermione, "That had to be the fastest catch of the snitch in… forever."

Hermione was staring at Ron's bloody nose in deep concern. "Oh Ron, we should get you and Neville to the hospital wing." Neville was moaning.

"Huh?" Ron looked down and realized Neville's condition for the first time. "Oh you're right." They helped him up and headed down the stands with Neville between them.

"It was really childish of you to get into a fight, and dragging Neville into it with you. What were you thinking?" Hermione scolded as they carefully descended the stairs.

"I told you; I wasn't thinking. Malfoy just hit a nerve and Neville jumped in on his own. I didn't make him."

"Still, you could have gotten in trouble," Hermione hissed.

"He was talking about me and Harry," Ron reminded her. "I would have done the same thing if he was talking about you. It's just the way I am. I can't stand Malfoy, especially when he's talking about one of my friends."

Hermione fell silent as they started across the field."He would have done the same for me," she thought to herself. "Well I guess that's saying something if Ron considers me enough of a friend to stick up for me the way he does Harry." She tried to keep her grin from showing. It was official. They were finally friends in Ron's eyes. Hermione looked over Neville's head at Ron who had one hand covered over his bloody nose, the other supporting Nevel. Despite this, he was smiling. Hermione smiled too. Harry was okay. They had won the quidditch match without any trouble from Snape, and she was way closer to Ron because of it all.

As they made their way back to the castle, Professor Dumbledore crossed their path. "Professor, were you at the game?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, it was very exciting, although I wish it could have lasted longer. I so seldom get to watch quidditch these days. Nevertheless it was an exciting few minutes."

"Yeah, Harry did great." Ron said.

"I see Mr. Longbottom was… overcome with emotion." Dumbledore said as he peered at the student they were practically carrying.

"Uh… yeah," Ron said, pressing his hand hard against his nose so Dumbledore couldn't see it. "Sometimes watching quidditch can be just as rough as playing it."

"I see." The headmaster seemed to be willing to accept this vague explanation as he started off again. "Oh by the way Ms. Granger," he said suddenly.

Hermione turned her head to face him. "Yes, sir?"

"I'm very proud of you. It seems you were able to help Harry without magic after all." He turned and walked away. Hermione beamed.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," Hermione said quickly. "Come on; let's get to the hospital wing." They both lifted Neville's limp body and, together, continued to carry him towards the castle.

A/N: Aw! Ron and Hermione are finally friends now! Review. :)


	12. Pansy's Revenge

Chapter Summary: We've got a lot of time to kill between the quidditch match and the Easter holidays (several weeks to be exact) but the book skips over it. So I'm filling in the gaps. Pansy is still licking her wounds from the last time Hermione got the better of her. Will she be able to settle the score against our heroine?

Madam Pomfrey was the aged witch who ran the hospital wing. Though she had a stern voice, she was always kind to her patients and hadn't met a magical ailment that she couldn't cure. Hermione had never seen her in person before but had heard all about her from Neville as he had been to the hospital wing more times than the rest of Gryffindor House combined.

"You again?" Madam Pomfrey said as Hermione and Ron carried Neville in. "What has Mr. Longbottom gotten himself into this time? Oh never mind, I don't want to know, just put him over there. I'll get to him in a moment." She gestured to one of the beds. "And here, let me fix that up." She pointed her wand at Ron's nose and before he knew it, the blood had disappeared and his nose was completely healed.

"Wow, thanks!" Ron said as he and Hermione laid Neville in the bed.

"You better be glad that's all you got, Weasley," came a drawling voice from across the room. Malfoy and his cronies were also in the hospital wing. He was getting treated for a black eye. "A few more minutes and you would have ended up like Longbottom."

Ron made a motion like he was going to attack Malfoy but Hermione stopped him. "Come on Ron, let's go to dinner. Harry's probably waiting for us." She turned to the school nurse. "Will Neville be okay?"

"Of course he will dear. Just leave him there," Madam Pomfrey said huffily as is if she found the notion that she couldn't handle one unconscious student ridiculous.

"That's right, Weasley. Listen to your little muggle girlfriend and run away," Malfoy taunted as Madam Pomfrey tried to tend to his eye. This time it was Ron who had to hold Hermione back.

"If you don't keep it quiet Mr. Malfoy, I'm going to end up popping your eye out instead of healing it," the nurse warned Malfoy.

"Do it," Hermione snapped. "It'd make him look a whole lot better."

"How do Fred and George keep getting into the kitchens without getting caught?" Hermione said taking some custard from Ron. There was a huge celebration party going on in the Gryffindor common room after dinner.

"I don't know," Ron shrugged. "You'd think someone in the kitchen staff would notice food going missing. They say they've been doing it for years. I guess they've got a system."

"Oy, where's the guest of honor," Fred Weasley came up to his brother.

"Hmm, I don't know," Ron said looking around. "When we didn't see him at dinner, we thought he was with you."

Fred shook his head. "Nope, he went to put his broom away and that's the last I saw of him."

Hermione and Ron exchanged a look that made it all too clear they were both thinking the same thing. Had Snape attacked Harry after the game? Without a word, they both took off for the portrait exit.

"We should have stayed with him," Hermione said frantically as they started down the corridor. "There's no telling what could have happened after the game. Snape could have gotten him alone. Dumbledore left right after the game. Oh Ron what are we going to do?"

"First, you are going to calm down," Ron said shortly. "We'll head out to the quidditch field and see if he's still there. If he's not…" Ron trailed off as they headed down the stairs.

"If he's not?" Hermione asked finally.

"We'll find him.' Ron said determinedly.

Hermione bit her bottom lip. She didn't think she could handle anymore stress that day.

Ron and Hermione checked the quidditch field, locker rooms, broom shed, and all of the surrounding area. There was no sign of Harry. It was getting dark now.

"We've looked all over, Ron. We should go tell Dumbledore," Hermione pressed.

"How? We don't even know where Dumbledore stays in the castle," Ron reasoned.

"Well then, we should go to McGonagall," Hermione insisted.

"Oh alright, let's…" Ron was staring at the castle. "Wait a minute… I think… I think that's him. Look, he's heading back from the broom shed. Why didn't we see him before?"

Hermione grumbled. "He's probably been out flying around this whole time, while we've been down here worrying."

"You might be right. Well at least he's okay. Look, Hermione, let's not tell Harry that we were so worried about him. He's had enough stress. Alright?"

Hermione was about to protest but she stopped herself. She supposed Ron had a point. They ran to the castle.

"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione started when they caught up with him.

Ron gave her a dirty look as if to remind her of what he had just told her not five minutes before and she promptly shut up.

"We Won! You Won! We Won!" Ron shouted. A broad smile had replaced his previous strained look as he started to tell Harry all about the fight in the stands and the party that awaited him in Gryffindor Tower. Harry didn't seem interested in any of this. He looked flushed and out of breath. Instead of going with Ron and Hermione back to their common room, he dragged them to the nearest empty classroom and shut the door behind them.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione asked immediately after he shut them in. "What happened? Did Snape try something after the game?"

"It's more than that; I saw Quirrell and Snape in the Forbidden Forest. He practically threatened Quirrell if he didn't help him steal the Sorcerer's Stone."

"You were in the Forbidden Forest?" Ron said. It seemed that this was the only part of the story he had registered.

"Ron, are you listening to me?" Harry asked exasperated. "Snape threatened Quirrell!"

Hermione dropped down in a nearby chair in shock as she half listened to Harry. Things seemed to be getting worse. Not only was Snape trying to get the Sorcerer's Stone and kill Harry, he was now threatening other professors. It all made sense of course. There had to be other things guarding the stone beyond the three-headed dog, most likely a barrage of spells and enchantments. What if there were already other professors in cahoots with Snape? Harry had overheard Snape telling Quirrell to think about "where his loyalties lie." Did that mean that the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was only one of a few still against Snape?

"So you mean the stone's only safe so long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" Hermione finally asked, voicing her fears.

"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," Ron quipped in a hopeless sort of voice.

"That's not funny," Hermione said irritably. "This is serious. Now I really think we should go to Dumbledore."

"And tell him what?" Harry asked in exasperation. "We still can't prove anything. You should have seen Quirrell in the forest, Hermione. He was stuttering even worse than normal. He's terrified of Snape. He'd be too afraid to back us up if we went to Dumbledore."

Hermione was about to argue further but at that moment, Peeves the Poltergeist burst through the door. "Ooooo, ickle firsties!" he cackled.

Harry sighed. "Come on let's get out of here. We can talk about this later." The trio retreated as Peeves started to toss chairs around the room.

But it didn't matter how many times they talked about it, the conversation just kept going in circles. Hermione insisted the best choice of action was to go to a professor or the headmaster, or writing to Nicolas Flamel himself, or even the Ministry of Magic, but all of these options had the same flaw. They didn't have proof and furthermore they were beginning to wonder who they could trust.

Harry was content to wait until they could get more information and Ron sided with him, but Hermione was almost frantic with worry. What if Snape tried to kill him again? Sure it would be difficult to do within the confines of the castle, but it seemed as if Snape was becoming desperate and that meant he might try anything.

There next Potions lesson proved that Snape's hatred towards Harry had doubled. It was like a public torture session. Snape was even ignoring Neville's consistent incompetence to pick on every little thing Harry did, even if it wasn't wrong. In his opinion even the way Harry diced his toadstools was grounds for public reticule.

"That was an absolute nightmare," Harry griped as they exited the potions class after what seemed like an eternity. "Is this what I have to look forward to the rest of the year?"

"At least when he's ridiculing you, he's not trying to kill you," Hermione said.

"Oh aren't we a bright little ray of sunshine!" Ron said rolling his eyes. "Do you have to keep bringing that up?"

"Do you think it'll go away if I hush up? We have a serious problem here and I think we need to do something about it" Hermione said, launching into her fourth argument with Ron for the day. Ever since the night of Harry's last quidditch game, they had been arguing a lot about what to do. They were of course both concerned about Harry, but seemed to show it in different ways. Ron preferred being loyal to whatever Harry decided and not questioning it. Hermione wanted to do what was best for Harry even if he didn't think it was the right idea.

Hermione had realized that Ron never really got over the fact that Harry was famous which is why he always went along with whatever Harry said. Hermione however, didn't see Harry as just a famous wizard anymore. She still thought he was extremely unique but after being friends with him for several months now, she felt more comfortable around him and knew that she could speak her mind and not have to worry about losing his respect or friendship.

"He's such a lap dog and he doesn't even know it. It's not like Harry asks him to agree with everything he says," Hermione thought to herself as she continued her fight with Ron.

"Why do you have to be so disagreeable?" Ron was saying.

"I'm not being disagreeable; I'm being realistic," Hermione retorted.

"Will you two stop already!" Harry said finally. "I think the best thing we can do now is go and see Hagrid."

"Hagrid?" Hermione and Ron repeated simultaneously, forgetting their argument.

"Yeah, maybe we can get more information about the Sorcerer's Stone; find out what else is protecting it beyond Fluffy. Maybe then we can get an idea of how much farther Snape has to go before he can get the stone. We'll go see him during our break this afternoon."

"Good idea," Ron said immediately.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Of course he agreed with Harry, yet again.

After lunch, Hermione went to her dormitory, plopped down on her bed and pulled the diary from beneath her pillow so she could write in it. It was a great way to relieve stress, especially considering all that had happened in the past few weeks. Not only did she have Harry to worry about, but her father had written her recently to remind her that he expected her to receive top marks on her final exams. In the letter he wrote that there would be no way to avoid showing her marks when she came home for the summer and that he hoped to see numerical proof of how well she was doing.

She hadn't told her parents anything about the Sorcerer's Stone or Snape, so they had no idea how much pressure she was under already. Even if she did, she knew her father wouldn't see that as an excuse to let her studies suffer. "You can't go around worrying about other people's problems. You have your own life to worry about and right now your life is studying," she imagined him saying if she told him about how she was concerned for Harry's life.

Also she knew that her parents might yank her out of Hogwarts if they felt she was in danger and despite all that was going on, leaving the castle was the last thing Hermione wanted. She was so much happier than she'd ever been. The thought of losing her new friends after living such an unpleasant lonely life for nearly eleven years was devastating.

So she let out her emotional baggage in her journal. She only wrote when things became far too stressful for her to keep it bottled up inside. She didn't think Harry could take her breaking down into tears again, and she often wondered if that's why he bought the journal for her to begin with. When she wrote, she pretended that she was writing a letter to Harry, it made more sense than writing to a book. Besides, Harry had told her to use it in situations when she felt she couldn't talk to him, so it was only appropriate that he be the one she pretended to write to.

She pulled out a quill and ink bottle from her school bag beside the bed and tapped the cover of the green book with her wand, "Imperamora." Then she turned to the back page and wrote "Harry and Ron and Hermione Friends Forever."

The words shimmered for a second and then faded from view. New words appeared in her handwriting. "Hello, Hermione: Your Diary is Now Unlocked," along with a list of options she could choose from to find old entries.

She turned to a blank page, dipped her quill in the black ink, and began to write.

"Dear Harry,

Being your friend isn't easy. I've gotten used to you being famous, and stares following us wherever we go, but I guess there are still some aspects of your life that I will never get used to.

I wish I could be as calm as you are about someone trying to kill you, but I can't. I'm so worried and scared for you. I guess I should be scared for myself too. What if Snape came after me because I'm your friend? But that doesn't seem to bother me as much as the thought of you getting hurt or killed. You've been lucky up until now, but that's all it's been; luck. I just hope that"

"Hermione," Lavender came through the door. "Harry sent me to come fetch you," she sounded as if the idea of being Harry's messenger girl both disgusted and amused her.

Hermione sighed. She hated being disrupted by her roommates while writing in her diary. "Why didn't he just come up here himself,' she muttered as she slammed the book shut.

"Duh, he's a boy," Lavender said as she sat on her own bed. "He can't get past the spell at the bottom of the stairs."

"Oh that's right," Hermione had forgotten about the self-renewing spell that prevented boys and girls from going into each others dormitories. She'd heard some of the older students knew how to get past it, but this seemed to be a very well kept secret.

Hermione grabbed her bag, out of habit more than anything else, and headed down the stairs to meet Harry.

When she was sure Hermione was gone, Lavender grabbed the diary off of the bed. She pulled out her wand, "Imperamora," she whispered. The book opened again but the pages were completely blank again. She had hoped that since she had caught Hermione off guard, she would be able to see everything in the diary. Lavender was completely unaware of the special properties of the small green book, but she and Parvati knew it was her diary and were hopping to learn more about Harry by reading it. So far, they had no luck in figuring out how to read it.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione marched across the courtyard to the familiar hut.

"So how are we going to get Hagrid to tell us more about the stone?" Hermione asked as they walked.

"We'll just ask him," Ron said matter-of-factly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, brilliant idea."

Harry ignored them. He knocked on Hagrid's door. "Hagrid, it's us."

There was no answer; not even the familiar booming bark of Hagrid's large dog, Fang.

"Where could he be?" Harry had never known Hagrid not to be in his hut on a Friday afternoon.

"Maybe he's out doing his game-keeping duties," Ron suggested.

"That doesn't explain why Fang isn't there," Hermione said.

"Maybe he's out running an errand for Dumbledore," Harry said as they started back to the castle. "Hagrid told me once that Dumbledore had him run important errands. We'll try back again tomorrow."

It seemed that wherever Hagrid had gone, he was going to be away for a while. The trio tired all weekend to find him, but he was nowhere on the grounds. During the following week, they did see Hagrid once, but when they went to his cabin at the end of the day, he was gone again. They decided to wait until they saw him again at the high table during one of their meals and then they would know whether or not he was back. In the meantime, their schoolwork had reached an all time high and they didn't have time to think about the Sorcerer's Stone or Snape for a while.

After a long night of studying in the common room with Harry and Ron, Hermione went up to her room, prepared to collapse in her bed. It was just after midnight and when she opened the door to her dormitory, she expected to be greeted by the sound of Lavender's snores. However, both of her roommates were wide awake, standing at the window.

"What's up?" Hermione asked sleepily.

"There was some weird noise. We both heard it; it woke us up. We think it came from the forest."

Hermione stepped up to the window. She didn't see anything unusual about the forest but something did catch her attention. From their window she could see Hagrid's hut. The lights were on inside. That must have meant he was back, but for how long?

Parvati and Lavender headed back to bed. "Oh well." Parvati yawned. "I hope whatever it is, stays in the forest. You'd think we'd have enough to worry about without having to live beside a forest full of goodness-knows-what."

Hermione headed for the door.

"Hey where are you going?" Lavender asked sleepily.

"Oh, I forgot something," Hermione said vaguely.

Hermione rushed down the stairs to find Harry and Ron and tell them what she had seen. Maybe they would be willing to sneak out and talk to Hagrid now. It wasn't the kind of thing she thought they'd object to. She had left them only 5 minutes beforehand but they were already gone. The common room was dark and completely empty now. Hermione made her way to the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories, but no sooner had she gone through the door was she forced backwards.

"I forgot about that stupid gender repelling spell. I'll never get up there." Hermione was about to head back to her own dormitory when she got an idea. She didn't need Harry and Ron. She could sneak out and talk to Hagrid on her own. She already had her wand; it would be a piece of cake. It wasn't like she hadn't done it before.

She grinned mischievously to herself. "Hermione Granger; rebel, rule breaker, and all around bad girl." She marched purposely towards the portrait door and pushed her way through.

The castle seemed completely empty. Even the pictures were unusually still. It only took her few minutes to reach the main doors of the castle. She hadn't run into a single teacher or ghost on the four flights down. As she stepped out into the courtyard she noticed that the moon was completely covered by clouds, making it unusually dark. She used a simple spell, "Lumos," and a beam of light appeared at the end of her wand. Hermione walked quickly across the soft wet grass towards Hagrid's hut. She hadn't thought it would be this easy.

Suddenly, there was a loud growl. Hermione jumped. There was a rustling sound in the trees nearby. Hagrid's hut was right next to the Forbidden Forest and from the sound of things, something was about to jump out. Hermione paused for a moment. Should she continue towards Hagrid's house and thus towards the forest? There was another growl, and then suddenly a flash of light from out of nowhere. Hermione immediately turned and bolted towards the castle. She didn't stop running into she was safely inside again.

"Hermione Granger; scared, simpering, coward. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." She headed back to Gryffindor Tower.

"You did what!" Ron almost chocked on his toast. "After all the grief you gave us about sneaking around late at night! I can't believe you!"

"Oh shut it Ron. I was just trying to see if I could talk to Hagrid; that's all," Hermione grumbled. "I would have done it too had it not been for that whatever-it-was in the forest. Now I know why it's forbidden. I could have been killed!"

"Not a rare event here at Hogwarts though," Harry said with a grin. "If a week goes by when I'm not almost killed, I begin to worry."

"That's not funny," Hermione chastised.

"Hello Granger," said a harsh voice behind her that could only belong to Pansy Parkinson. "You look well rested this morning... considering the circumstances..."

"What do you mean?" Hermione said coldly, not bothering to turn to her.

Pansy leaned in closer and began to whisper. "I just thought you'd be interested in my latest hobby, photography. I got a very good picture last night." A piece of paper fell in front of Hermione, it was a wizard's photograph of the Hogwarts courtyard. It seemed that it had been taken from far above but you could clearly see Hermione's likeness moving stealthily around next to the forbidden forest, lighted wand in her hand.

"How did you…" Hermione started breathlessly.

"Last night was our astronomy lesson but it looks like the stars weren't the only thing out that night. You shouldn't have been skulking around the Forbidden Forest with all that racket going on down there. I go to take a picture of whatever beast is lurking around, but all I see is a little bushy-haired, muggle-born, witch. I wonder what Professor McGonagall would think of her prized student if she saw this."

Hermione was speechless.

"You can keep that copy, Granger. I took the liberty of saving the negatives." Pansy stood straight again. "By the way, it's really nice of you to offer to do all my homework for the rest of the year. I'll be sure to give you all my assignments tonight at dinner." And with that she strolled off.

"Did that just happen?" Hermione stammered.

"I didn't know that girl had it in for you like that," Harry said amazed. "What are you going to do?"

"Well I'm not going to do her homework for the rest of the year; that's for sure." Hermione said angrily.

She stared down at the image of herself, walking cautiously around the outskirts of the forbidden forest. It was obvious that the picture was taken late in the evening, you could see the lights on in Hagrid's cabin and the darkness that surrounded everything except her small lighted area. Where had Pansy gotten such a sophisticated wizard's camera? All the ones Hermione had seen were black and white.

She was tempted to let Pansy go show the picture to McGonagall rather than being blackmailed, but she knew that would never work. Being out of bed after the established curfew was the deputy headmistress' least favorite infraction of the rules. She had recently taken 40 points from Hufflepuff when she caught a fifth year student from that house trying to sneak out to meet his girlfriend. The Gryffindors would kill her if she got in trouble. They only had a slight lead over the Slytherins in the house cup.

Unsure of what to do, Hermione finished her breakfast in silence. Every now and again, she would glance over at the Slytherin table and see Pansy grinning at her.

It was like that the rest of the day. Every time Hermione saw the hard-faced, Slytherin girl; she would grin mischievously or laugh with her friend Millicent.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen," Pansy said as she passed Hermione in the hall after lunch. "I'll be sure to get you that homework tonight."

True to her word, at the end of dinner that night, Pansy walked up to the table and dropped a stack of books right in front of Hermione, causing the bowl of pudding she was eating to topple to the floor.

"I forgot to mention, I have a lot of backed up work that I haven't had a chance to get to," she said coolly. "Make sure you have it to me by tomorrow."

Hermione was fuming now. "I can't believe that girl! If she thinks I'm just going to let her manipulate me, she's got another thing coming. I'll show her. She'll rule the day she messed with this ' bushy haired muggle-born witch."

Harry and Ron had never seen her quite this angry before. "Hermione, you can't transfigure her. That would make McGonagall even angrier." Harry said, trying to reason with his friend.

"I'm not going to transfigure her," Hermione said. "I'm going to beat her at her own game."

"How?" Ron asked from the other side of Harry. "Are you going to get a camera and take some incriminating pictures of her?"

Hermione shook her head at the question. "Harry, can I borrow your invisibility cloak?"

"Uh…" Harry thought about this. He'd never even let Ron borrow the cloak, though he had never asked of course, but the look in Hermione's eyes told him that "yes" was the only answer he was allowed to give, so he nodded. "Sure, what for?"

"If sneaking out at night is what got me in this mess, then sneaking out at night is going to get me out of it." Hermione said matter-of-factly.

It was clear that neither Harry nor Ron had any idea what this meant, but they nodded in amused agreement anyway.

"Here," Harry handed Hermione the folded invisibility cloak.

It was nearing midnight and most of the other students had gone to bed. The ones that were still in the common room took no notice of the clandestine transaction that took place near the portrait entrance. Hermione had her school bag with her and it would have been obvious to anyone watching that she was about to head out of the tower, but usually this action alone didn't attract attention. Many students snuck out of bed after hours, especially the Weasley twins. As long as they didn't get caught, or didn't get the house into too much trouble, people overlooked it.

Hermione tucked the cloak under her arm. She would put it on when she was outside the portrait so no one would see. Harry had made it clear that he didn't want the other students knowing he had the cloak.

"I hope you know what you're doing?" He said with a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Don't worry. I'll be back in an hour or so. Wait up for me, will you? Where's Ron anyway?" She asked, looking past him at the boys dormitory, already knowing what the answer to her question would be.

"Asleep already. Something at dinner didn't agree with him I think."

"Well maybe he should stop eating everything," Hermione snickered. "I'll see you." She pushed through the portrait exit. As the picture of the fat lady swung into place, she threw the invisibility cloak over her and started down the hall slowly.

Harry and Ron had always given her grief about the fact that she read so many books, but this time her book knowledge would come in handy. Although she had never visited the living area of any of the other houses, they're locations weren't a huge secret. All the information about the exact location of each house was detailed in "Hogwarts: A History." The only tricky part would be getting into the house, but she had a plan for that.

She hurried down the stairs as quietly as possible until she reached the first floor. Then she made her way to the dungeon level. There were no other students, teachers, or ghosts about as she wound her way through the labyrinth of corridors and classrooms. The castle looked different at night and for a moment she was afraid she wouldn't be able to find the Slytherin house entrance but after several minutes of running her hands along the cold walls, she found it. It looked just like the rest of the dungeon walls; dark, damp, and bare, but the stone felt slightly different, almost less solid, and this was all the indication that she needed. The Slytherin common room was just behind that wall. Now to put her plan into action.

She pulled out her wand and pressed the tip against the stone wall. "Quakus Thunderous." In response there was a loud thud as if someone had slammed a giant steel mallet into the stone wall. It even knocked Hermione back a few paces. The stone wall seemed to be unaffected though, as she knew it would be. Hermione wasn't trying to break into the common room; that would be impossible even for her. She just hopped she could get someone's attention.

A few seconds later the stone wall slid open and a sixth year Slytherin student stuck his head out to look around. "What the devil is going on out here?"

He couldn't see Hermione, who was standing only inches away from him with a wide grin on her face. Her plan had worked. Satisfied that no one was outside, he turned to reenter his common room, and Hermione slipped in behind him just before the stone wall sealed itself again.

The Slytherin common room didn't look nearly as comfortable as the one in Gryffindor tower. The walls and ceiling were the same dingy damp looking stone that comprised the rest of the dungeon level and everything about the room seemed dark and depressing. "No wonder Slytherins are always so foul tempered," Hermione thought to herself. "If I had to live here, I'd be in a bad mood too."

She looked around the common room and saw that most of the Slytherin first years still seemed to be up. Pansy was telling her group of friends about how she had trapped Hermione into doing her homework for her.

"And that stupid little mudblood couldn't do anything about it," Pansy was saying. "She thinks she's so clever."

" Oh you'll see how clever I really am, you twit," Hermione thought to herself. " And what does that word, ' mudblood', mean?" It was the second time Pansy had called her that. The first time she had said it to her face on the train. Of course, it was obviously an insult, but Hermione decided to look it up later. She couldn't stand not knowing something.

She looked at the two corridors that led to the boys and girls dormitories. She didn't know which corridor to try so she decided to rely on the gender repelling charm that was supposed to be in all the houses. Hermione started down the right hand corridor and was immediately pushed backwards. She tried not to stumble and lose the concealment of the invisibility cloak.

"Okay, not there." Hermione crossed the common room to the left hand corridor amidst gales of laughter from the first-year Slytherin girls. She was careful not to bump into Malfoy and his friends as they headed towards the corridor she had just tried.

The left-hand corridor didn't repel her and she started past the doors until she saw one marked "First Years." She risked pushing open the door herself, figuring that the girls were all in the common room. She was right, the room was empty. Hermione threw off the cloak and began to hurridly hunt around the four-poster beds in the room. Finally she found what she was looking for, camera negatives, lying one of the nightstands. She held them up to the candlelight and saw a miniature version of herself moving around near the forbidden forest. This was it.

Hermione searched the rest of the nightstand but found no other copies of the picture. Then she saw Pansy's bag sitting by the bed and found a copy in there. She shoved the picture and negatives in her own bag and then pulled out all of the books that Pansy had given her earlier that day. She put these on the nightstand with a grin. Then she picked up her bag and threw the invisibility cloak back over her.

Back in the Slytherin common room, Pansy and her knot of friends were still talking. They were the only ones left. Hermione paused at the exit. She couldn't just open the door or they would know someone was there.

"So Pansy, why don't you show us this picture you have," one of the girls said finally.

Pansy stood. "I have it in my bag; come on, I'll show you."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. Not only did this mean she could leave without being spotted, but Pansy's statement confirmed what she had hoped which was that Pansy didn't have any of the pictures or negatives on her. Hermione had gotten them all. She decided to make her escape while the common room was empty. She made a bee line for Gryffindor Tower where Harry was still waiting up for her.

"I still can't believe you actually pulled it off," Harry said at breakfast the next morning.

"I can't believe you broke into Slytherin House," Ron added in awe. His mouth open in the way he did when he was shocked. Hermione felt herself starting to blush, so she avoided his heavy gaze. "You could have taken us with you. I'd have liked to pay Malfoy a visit."

Hermione was about to explain that her plan wouldn't have worked with them tagging along but at that moment Pansy, red with anger, stormed up to the Gryffindor table. "I don't know how you did it…"

"Did what?" Hermione looked up at her innocently.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You broke into my room. You stole those pictures."

"I have no idea what pictures you're talking about, Pansy. How could I have broken into your room? I can't even get into your house, now can I?"

"You think you're so clever, but I'll get you; just you wait." Pansy stomped off.

"Ooo, I'm shaking in anticipation," Hermione giggled as she returned to her food.

"Granger, 1; Parkinson 0," Ron laughed. Harry and Hermione joined in.

A/N: That chapter was just so fun to write! Hermione rocks, doesn't she? Review, please and tell me what you thought!


	13. Ron's Belated Birthday Bash

Chapter Summary: There is still a lot of time to kill before the Easter holidays. So why not throw Ron a birthday party? Yeah that's right, Ron has a birthday too… isn't it amazing how we all forgot?

"Hermione," Harry started as he sat down next to her in the library.

"Shhh," she hissed. She was trying to organize her notes for the end of year exams. She'd already tried to convince Harry and Ron to do the same, but they didn't seem to think starting to study for finals ten weeks in advance was practical. Hermione however knew that if she wasn't top of her class at the end of the year, she'd have to hear about it all summer from her father, and that wasn't something she wanted to risk.

"Hermione!" Harry said after five minutes of waiting for her to acknowledge him.

"What?" she said testily.

"We've missed something important."

"We did?" Hermione stared at the stack of papers and books in front of her. It looked like she had everything she needed to start preparing for exams. "What; did McGonagall give use a hint on what would be on her exams?" He now had her full attention as she glanced at him anxiously.

"Hermione," Harry sighed. "Could you get your mind off your studies for one minute? We've missed Ron's birthday!"

Hermione stared at him, not really having registered what he had said. "Huh?" She said numbly. " When was it?"

"Three weeks ago, March 1st."

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Hermione asked irritably. Hermione's heart began to race. She had spent an afwul lot of time wishing to be a closer friend to Ron since she met him on the train to Hogwarts and now that it finally happened she didn't even so much as wish him a happy birthday? Three weeks ago? When she first became friends with Harry, he didn't even like her, so of course she didn't ask him when his birthday was. Hermione glared at Harry. "I would have gotten him something!" She stamped her foot in frustration. " Now he probably hates me again!"

"I didn't know," Harry admitted. "Ron never told me when his birthday was. The only reason I know now is because I overheard his brothers talking about it. We've been so distracted with Snape and the Sorcerer's Stone and all; I guess he just didn't want to add any more complications."

Hermione seriously doubted that. He probably didn't tell Harry simply because he didn't want Harry to buy him a birthday present. Ron always seemed very touchy about his family's financial situation. He had confided this to her one night while they were practicing the leg-locker curse. His father was a ministry employee so he made decent money, but it had always been spread thin because he had such a large family, seven children in all. Harry on the other hand was practically rich, given that he had a huge inheritance from his deceased parents and he was an only child, of course. So it was always a sensitive subject if he did something for Ron that involved spending money.

"We should do something for him," Harry was saying now. "Make up for the fact that we completely missed his birthday."

Hermione faced him now, abandoning her studies. "Like what? We can't go out and get gifts for him, we're not allowed out of the school. Even if we were, I don't really have any money left."

Harry nodded. "Still…"

"What makes you think Ron cares? He hasn't mentioned anything about it."

"No, but I think it might actually be bothering him. If you haven't noticed, he's been in a weird mood lately."

He was right. Ron had been in a grumpy mood lately, and the fact that he hadn't really had a birthday celebration may have had something to do with it. It was probably yet another reminder that he was just one of seven Weasley kids. Hermione was an only child and though her parent's weren't rich, she never really had to want to for anything. It must be a completely different experience when almost everything you have is a hand-me-down and it was bound to be depressing at times.

"I guess you're right," she said finally. "But what should we do?"

Harry thought for a moment. "I know, let's throw him a party. He'd like that."

"No, he'd love that," Hermione thought to herself. "It'd be one time when everything was about him." She smiled slightly at the thought. Having Harry for a best friend wasn't always easy on Ron since Harry was famous and all. For once he'd be in the spotlight. Finding herself blushing again, she turned so Harry wouldn't see. " Everyone needs at least one day like that."

"It would have to be before the Easter holidays, that way we can get as many people to come as possible." Harry continued.

"But where would we have it? You know Percy. Even though he's Ron's brother, he'd never allow us to throw a party in the common room."

"We could hold it at night, in one of the empty classrooms."

"Oh Harry, don't you think we've pushed the envelop just a bit this year? How could we have a party in one of the classrooms without getting caught and where are we going to get food and the other things we need?"

Harry thought for a moment. "I think we're going to need some help with this, and I know just the people to ask."

Harry and Hermione took seats across from Fred and George in the common room. "We need to talk to you."

"That'll be five galleons an hour," Fred said immediately.

Harry grinned and got right to the point. "We want to throw a party for Ron's birthday."

"I hate to tell you this Harry, but ickle Ronnie's birthday was three weeks ago. It's a little late," Fred said.

"We know," Harry sighed and Hermione shifted in her chair guiltily. "Which is why we want to make up for missing it by throwing him a party. But we're going to need your help setting it up. We need a place to have it since we already know Percy won't let us have it here, and we'll also need a way to get food. We figured you could help us in that department."

George faked a look of shock. "You want us to help you throw a party for our dung-brain brother?"

"I'm sorry Harry but there are some lines we just don't cross." Fred said seriously. "Don't get us wrong or anything; we like you, but we have to live up to our commitment to torment and torture all of our siblings as much as possible."

Harry, who had aparently given up, gave Hermione a defeated look as he moved off of his chair. But Hermione however, who had a plan cooking in her mind, stood. "Come on Harry," She said, motioning towards the portait hole. "It's obviously these two aren't going to help us. I mean, what we're asking them to do would require careful planning and secrecy. We'd be breaking about a dozen rules and we couldn't ask them to do that for us."

Hermione had struck the right nerve. "We'll since you put it that way," George said with an evil grin. "It does sound like an interesting challenge."

Fred elbowed his brother. "What George means is; after all this is our favorite brother we're talking about. Of course we want to help."

Hermione grinned. "So do you have any ideas of how we can pull it off?"

Fred and George started laughing so hard that several people in the common room turned and stared at them.

"What?" Harry asked finally.

"What do you think we are armatures? We do this sort of thing all the time. You can't honestly think everyone's a goodie-two-shoes like you Hermione. Some of us don't use the night for sleeping," Fred said with a grin. "What do you think, George: Weasley Party Plan #6?"

"Sure, that should do for little Ronnikins. We don't want to overdue it."

Hermione gave them a questioning look. "Weasley Party Plan #6?"

"Just leave everything to us. All you have to do is get everyone to Dungeon Five, Friday at around 11:00, and get our dear little brother there at 11:30 so we can surprise him."

"Alright, thanks," Harry said as he and Hermione stood to leave.

"Not a problem, just remember, you owe us," Fred winked.

"Why do I feel like we just made a deal with the wizard's mafia," Hermione whispered as they left.

"He likes his wizard's chessmen because he's had them for so long that he can get them to do whatever he wants," Harry explained a few days later in the library. "That's why I decided just to get him a new chessboard." Harry pulled the mahogany chessboard out of his bag to show Hermione.

"Where did you get this from?" Hermione asked, putting down her quill to examine the brown and beige checkered board.

"You know Fred and George," Harry shrugged. "They sneak into the village as easily as you sneak up to the ramparts. I gave them some money and asked them to pick it up. They had to go there to get some supplies for Ron's party."

"Where is Ron, anyway?" Hermione asked.

"The moment I said 'library' he suddenly got ill," Harry laughed. "I don't think he's in the mood for studying."

"Doesn't he realize that if he doesn't start studying now, he hasn't got a hope for getting through the finals?" Hermione said, worried. Then she rounded on Harry. ' You should set a good example for him, Harry by starting yourself."

Harry ignored this. "So what are you getting Ron for his birthday party?"

Hermione shrugged. "I really don't know what to get him. Besides I don't really have any money left. I have 1 galleon. I really should have converted more of my savings when I was in Diagon Alley. What can I get with 1 galleon?"

Harry thought for a moment. "Well that should get you a lot of chocolate frogs."

"Oh Harry, that's ridiculous. I'm not going to buy Ron chocolate frogs for his birthday. I already got you both candy for Christmas. It's a little redundant don't you think?"

"Well, Ron loves chocolate frogs because of the famous witch and wizard cards. He's been trying to collect them all for a while but he's still short two: Agrippa and Ptolemy. They're supposedly very rare. I haven't got them either. Maybe you'll luck out and give him the toads he needs." Hermione felt she could have kissed him right then and there. It was the perfect gift for Ron. If she got him those cards there would be no way he'd hate her still. " Harry," Hermione gasped. " That's brilliant!"

" Yes, but they're really, really, rare." Harry stressed the " reallys". " We'd have to buy about a hundred boxes of frogs and even then we'd be lucky if we got either Agrippa or Ptolemy." Hermione's bubble of hope popped then and she scolded herself for thinking so illogically. Of course it would be a task to hunt down those cards by Friday.

"I doubt I'd be that lucky," Hermione sighed.

Harry shrugged. "Just a thought."

Hermione picked up her quill with every intention of starting to work again, but then an idea suddenly struck her. "Wait a minute… I think I've got it."

For the few days that preceded the clandestine birthday party, Hermione had one mission, find the two elusive famous witch and wizard cards that would complete Ron's collection. She decided to forgo buying chocolate frogs and take a more direct approach. If she could find someone who already had the two cards, she might be able to buy them directly. She asked Neville, Dean, and Seamus first but none of them were really collectors, so she tried the other members of Gryffindor house.

"Ewww," Parvati winced when Hermione asked her if she ate chocolate frogs one evening in their dormitory. "I can't eat those things. Some of us actually care if our skin breaks out. Why do you want those things anyway… craving?"

"Uh, no," Hermione said. "I'm trying to find someone who collects the famous witch and wizard cards so I can find the two I need. I'm getting them for Ron's birthday party this Friday. You are coming right?"

"Are you kidding," Lavender squealed excitedly. She was lying on her bed with her feet in the air. "First years never get to go to the night castle parties. Only Harry could have pulled this off. He gets to be on the house quidditch team and now he's throwing a night party. This is so exciting!"

"Yeah, Padma is bringing a bunch of her friends from Ravenclaw," Parvati added. "Speaking of such; if you're really serious about finding those cards, I think a friend of Padmas knows someone in Hufflepuff that is a collector just like Ron. Maybe he can help you." It was a proven fact that there were at most three degrees of separation between any Hogwarts student and one of the Patil twins.

Hermione brightened. "Sure, can you ask her who it is so I can get a hold of him?"

"Okay, but you've only got a couple of days before the party. Awful nice thing you're doing for Ron, by the way." She and Lavender both smiled in a knowing way that made Hermione uncomfortable. She blushed under their gaze, but didn't dare say anything, lest her speech confirm what she was sure what they were suspicious of. When Hermione didn't respond, Lavender looked excited again." Are you sure you can pull this off?"

Hermione grinned to herself. "Of course, I'm a Granger."

Parvati looked up. "Huh?"

"Nothing."

"Uh, Hermione," Parvati said as she came up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione at breakfast the next morning. "I have to show you that… uh… thing I promised to show you. Remember?"

Hermione threw down her napkin. "Oh… yeah." She turned to Harry and Ron. "Be right back," and then jumped out of her chair to follow Parvati.

"Girls are weird," Ron said through a mouthful of bacon.

Parvati and Hermione walked out of the Great Hall to where a boy was waiting patiently by the oak front doors. He had a nice, calm look about him. His dark hair, longer in front than in back, was longish, but not too long. He was tall and slender, and the way he was posed, leaning against the wall beside the front doors, pronounced his slenderness even more. Even though he was leaning, he was about five or six inches taller than Hermione. As she and Partvati got nearer to him, she realized that his eyes were the most soft looking gray. He looked like he was in his third or fourth year, though Hermione couldn't be sure.

"This is Wayne Hopkins," Parvati introduced. "He says he has what you're looking for. I've got to go though. I promise I'd meet Padma after I finished breakfast, then I've got to meet up with Lavender so we can walk to class." With a wave, she left. Hermione found herself nervous. She wasn't used to meeting new people, and she had a difficult time making new friends in the first place. She had grown accostumed to Harry and Ron, so they didn't count any more as exactly 'new people', but still. All of her life, she was goodie-goodie Granger, and it was true that she still was. It was going to take more than a handful of months to change that.

Wayne gave Hermione a half grin. "So I hear you're looking for a couple of famous witch and wizard cards."

"Yes, Agrippa and Ptolemy." She forced out, finding that she wasn't as frightened as she thought she'd be. It was hard to be scared around this guy, Wayne. She had heard that those in Hufflepuff house had ways of making others feel more relaxed about things, since they were usually so nice. But it was different with him. He had the most undescribable look about him. A sort of smile, but kind of less than that. But his eyes looked kind, but not really. And he looked at her with a bit of mild interest. Well...sort of. It was very hard to describe, of course. " Do you have them?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"Yup, I'm a collector. Agrippa and Ptolemy are rare, but I lucked out and have a few of each. Still, you better have something good to trade." He pushed himself off the wall now, so that he stood in front of Hermione, towering over her.

"Trade?" Hermione repeated uncertainly.

"Well I can't give them away for free." Wayne said matter-of-factly. His eyes laughed at her, though his expression was unchanging. Hermione glanced at her muggle watch. Breakfast would be over pretty soon, and she didn't want Ron and Harry to show up and see them. Hermione pushed him suddenly behind a column hidden in the shadows, glancing back up at the doors to the Great Hall every moment or so. Wayne Hopkins looked puzzled over her behavior, but didn't comment.

"Well I don't collect famous wizards and witches cards," she admitted. " The ones I want from you are for a friend." She was now talking very fast, not daring to take a breath. " Me and Harry, my other friend, didn't know he had a birthday three weeks ago and now that we found out we feel terrible. And I know that Ron ( the friend I want the cards for) collects chocolate frog cards and the only ones he doesn't have are Agrippa and Ptolemy and I am just dying to get the cards for him because I don't want him to hate me, and-" She was forced to take a breath now, seeing as she was running out of air. "I have 1 galleon though. Will that do?" She finished, tearing her eyes away from the double doors that lead to the Great Hall to look at him.

Wayne gave her a look of shock. Clearly he was tempted to ask her why she talked so much, but instead, he said, "Naw, I don't want money. I told you, I'm a collector. I collect all sorts of things: coins, owl feathers, talismans, all sorts of stuff. If you have something you can trade for the two cards, they're yours."

"Oh," Hermione thought about this. "I don't really think I have anything." She said, lamely, her arms swinging at her sides.

Wayne shrugged, though he looked sympathetic. Kind of, it was hard to tell. "Well if you think of something, find me at the Hufflepuff table during mealtime and we can trade. I have to get to Charms, now. I'll tell Padma I talked to you." He started off with a wave. Hermione waved back, feeling even more hopeless than before.

"So you couldn't find anything to trade with Wayne?" Harry asked later when they were both in the library. Ron had yet to arrive.

"No," Hermione answered in frustration. "What do I have that he would want? I don't have anything worth collecting. I don't have any talismans or rare coins or anything else like that and I've barely had time to ask any of the other Gryffindors."

"Rare coins?" came a voice from behind them. It was Ron and he had caught the tail end of their conversation.

Hermione jumped. "Oh hi, Ron. Uh, finally decided to study?"

"Not really," Ron shrugged, "but Seamus isn't around so I didn't have anyone to play wizard's chess with. So what do you need a rare coin for?" he pressed.

"Uh, well I'm trying to trade it with someone for a… uh… book I want to get from them."

Ron laughed. "Only you would trade someone for a boring old book."

"Hey!" Hermione squealed indignantly.

"Well, even though it's not for a worthy cause, I'll help you out." He tossed a coin on the table. It was the 50 pence piece that Harry's aunt and uncle sent him for Christmas.

"Ron," Hermione sighed picking up the coin to hand it back to him, "this isn't a rare coin; it's just muggle money."

"I know," Ron said. "But that's the whole point. Most wizards have no idea what muggle money even looks like. So to us, this is a rare coin."

"You know," Harry mused. "It just might work."

"I can have this?" Hermione asked Ron, uncertain.

" If Harry doesn't mind. It was his first." Ron said, nodding towards Harry.

" I don't mind at all. " He said quickly to Hermione.

" You don't mind either, Ron, are you sure?" She couldn't help asking. Harry nudged her. What if Ron changed his mind? That wouldn't be good. Hermione pressed her lips together to keep herself from talking again.

"Sure, I don't have any use for it. It was fun to have it but I don't really need it." Ron sat down as Hermione jumped to her feet. "Hey where are you going?"

"I have to go get that… uh… book now," she told him as she rushed for the doors.

Ron shook his head as he watched Hermione retreating from the library. "That girl is beginning to scare me."

Hermione rushed down the stairs and into the Great Hall where several students were still finishing dinner. She scanned the Hufflepuff table and saw that Wayne Hopkins was still there.

"Wayne," she panted as she ran up to the table. "I think I have something you want." She pulled the coin from her pocket.

Wayne shifted so that he was facing her, intrigued as he stared into the palm of her hand. "Oh, what's this?" He said, lifting it carefully out of her palm and turning it over.

"It's a muggle coin: 50 pence piece," she told him as he placed it back down in her hand, but his eyes stayed glued to the coin. " And it's real." She added impressively.

Wayne's eyes widened. "Really? Muggle money is pretty rare. It's not impossible to get of course, but since Gringotts melts down all exchanged coins immediately and most wizards just use magic to synthesis any muggle money they need, it's getting harder and harder to find real muggle coins in the wizarding world. I definitely don't have this. I think it's worth the two cards you want."

He took the coin from her and reached into his bag and pulled out two mint condition famous witch and wizard cards. "Thanks for the trade," he said as he slipped the coin in his pocket. "Let me know if there's anything else you need." And then he finally smiled. A genuine one this time, with his teeth (which were very nice) showing. No mistaking this one, it was a smile without a doubt. " I think my little sister's coming to your party tomorrow night. She's in first year and she's really excited."

" Really?" Hermione said, smiling too.

" Yeah, she's been talking about it everytime I see her. Sounds like it's going to be a blast." Hermione grinned. " I hope so."

Hermione thanked him and then left, thinking about the last thing he had said. It seemed that news of the party had definitely spread. How the Weasley twins were going to keep it a secret from the staff, she didn't know. Every time she asked them about it, they just assured her that they've done it numerous times and that they had everything under control.

It was amazing to think that parties went on at night that people didn't know about. She supposed that the teachers, especially those who attended Hogwarts in their youth, had to know what was going on. Did they not care or were the students really clever enough to keep from getting caught? She supposed it was a mix of both. She didn't know a lot about their headmaster but it seemed that as long as things didn't get out of hand, he was willing to overlook a few broken rules here and there. Besides Snape or Filch, the person they really had to look out for was Professor McGonagall. If she found out about the party, they'd all be in serious trouble.

"Have I mentioned that I have a bad feeling about this?" Hermione said nervously to Harry in the common room. It was the night of Ron's surprise birthday party.

"Only a hundred times," Harry said with a sigh. "Would you like to go for a hundred and one?"

Fred and George came up to them, a wide grin on each of their faces. "We're off to prepare for tonight. Don't forget: Bring dung-brains at 11:30," Fred said cheerily.

"Are you sure that everything is going to go okay?" Hermione asked.

"Don't worry, you goodie-two-shoes, we've got things covered," George assured her. "You just bring Ronnikins." The twins headed for the portrait hole.

"How are we going to get Ron to go out tonight without telling him what's up?" Hermione asked Harry.

"I've got an idea, just meet us down here at 11:20 tonight and follow my lead," Harry said with a grin.

At that moment, Neville came tumbling through the portrait entrance. "Oy, Harry just who I wanted to find."

Harry helped him up. "What's wrong Neville?"

"I overheard Malfoy talking to his friends about the night party for Ron. If he knows about it then…"

"Then he may try to cause trouble for us tonight," Harry finished for him.

"See I knew this was a bad idea," Hermione said immediately.

"Maybe we should call the whole thing off," Neville suggested. "If Malfoy's going to be there, I know I'm not going."

"Don't worry about it," Harry said calmly. "Now that we know about it, we'll be ready if Malfoy tries to show up." He turned to their most recent arrival. "Neville, it's still early, run down to Dungeon 5 and tell Fred and George what you just told me. I'm sure they've got something up their sleeves to handle Malfoy."

Neville nodded and then pushed his way through the portrait door again.

"We're going to get in trouble," Hermione insisted.

"We'll be fine," Harry said.

"What's going on?" Ron said as he descended the stairs from the boys' dormitories. "Everyone seems to be excited about something."

"Don't know," Harry said with a shrug. "Guess it must be because it's the weekend."

"Ooo, Parvati, that's such a nice outfit, where did you get it from?" Lavender squealed as her roommate reentered the room, having changed in the bathroom.

"I brought up some more clothes at Christmas," Parvati said. "Are you ready to go? It's 11:15."

Lavender stood. "Yup, are you coming, Hermione?"

Hermione was lying on her bed reading, "No, I'm going with Harry and Ron, I'm supposed to help get him to his surprise party remember?"

"Oh alright well Fred and George said we shouldn't all go in one big group, so Parvati and I are headed out on our own now," Lavender told her.

"Just don't get caught," Hermione warned them tentatively.

"We won't," Parvati assured her. "They gave us a route to follow that should keep us away from Filch." They left the room.

Hermione tried to keep reading, but her nervousness was getting the better of her, so she threw down her book and decided to go to the common room to wait for Harry and Ron. As she descended the stairs, she saw Neville headed towards the portrait exit.

"Neville I thought you said you weren't going," Hermione called before he could push the portrait open.

Neville jumped. "Oh well, I want to go. I don't want to be afraid of Malfoy or anyone. Gram would be so disappointed in me if she found out I wasn't facing my fears."

Hermione nodded in understanding. "Well do you have the directions so that you don't get caught?"

"Uh, yeah." Neville reached in his robe pockets. He pulled out a bit of parchment and as he did, a small pouch came tumbling out.

"What's that?" Hermione asked as Neville hastily reached down and shoved the pouch back into his pocket.

"It's just something I made earlier. I thought it might come in handy but I'm probably being paranoid. I'll see you." He pushed his way through the portrait exit and tumbled out.

Hermione took a seat in one of the large armchairs beside the common room fireplace. She didn't have long to wait before she heard voices coming down the stairs that led to the boys' dormitories.

"I wonder where Seamus, Dean, and Neville are. Maybe we should go look for them instead," she heard Ron say. His voice sounded pleading.

"I don't care," came Harry's angry reply. "I'm going to go find it. You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"No, I'm coming. I have to make sure that thing doesn't suck you in or something." Ron and Harry appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Hermione what are you doing up?" Ron asked in shock. "Is there some sort of party I don't know about? Everyone seems to be up tonight."

"Uh…" Hermione didn't know how to answer that.

"Come to stop me too have you?" Harry cut across her. He seemed genuinely upset about something but what, Hermione couldn't tell. "That's the last time I tell you anything." He turned to face Ron again. "I'm going to go find the Mirror of Erised and neither of you are going to stop me. All I can think about is seeing my parents again. Maybe if I do, I won't have these nightmares anymore."

Hermione finally understood. "Harry," she started, faking a look of deep concern. "I didn't come here to stop you. I just thought maybe you could use some company tonight. I know how hard this has been for you."

Ron looked back and forth from her to Harry, his mouth wide open. "Hermione, have you gone nutters? You do realize what that thing could do to him don't you?"

"Ron," Hermione snapped. "Stop being so insensitive. This is obviously something Harry wants. We should at least be there for him."

"You two have both gone mad," Ron said in exasperation.

"At least I care!" Hermione said testily.

"I'm not going to wait for you to decide Ron," Harry interrupted impatiently. Hermione stepped up beside him.

Ron took the bait. "Fine, I'm coming. Looks like I'm going to have to be the voice of reason," he grumbled.

Harry headed towards the portrait exit and Hermione followed as did Ron, still grumbling.

"How are you even going to find it again," Ron whispered a few minutes later as they descended a flight of stairs. "I thought you told me Dumbledore hid it."

"Hermione found it," Harry told him.

"I did?" Hermione thought to herself. Then she realized that this made the most sense. If anyone could have found the mirror, it would have been her. She knew the most about the castle.

"Nice going, Hermione," Ron said angrily in her ear. "You just had to get him on this again."

"Shut it, Ron," Hermione hissed. She was thoroughly enjoying making him worry. His uncomfortable facial expression as he followed her and Harry a few yards away was priceless. And cute, she had to admit. She liked seeing this side of Ron. She suspected that Harry was enjoying blaming her for this fiasco as well.

They had made it to the ground floor without incident. The castle seemed completely still despite the huge party that was supposedly raging, in the dungeon level.

"Where are we going?" Ron asked finally.

"Dungeon 5." Harry answered quietly.

"Dungeon 5?" Ron repeated.

"Shhhh," Hermione hissed as they descended the stairs to the dungeon level.

Harry led them to the deceptively quiet dungeon. The door was shut. "Alright, we're here."

"Harry," Ron started hastily. "It's not too late to go back."

"Oh Ron, you worry too much," Hermione said as she opened the door and pushed him forcibly in.

"SURPRISE!" There were at least 50 students packed in the dungeon, all first, second, and third year students from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff.

Ron's mouth dropped. "Wha… What's going on?"

Hermione had shut the door quickly behind her and Harry. "Don't you know a birthday party when you see one Ron?" she teased.

"Birthday party?" Ron repeated slowly. "But… it's not my birthday. My birthday was weeks ago."

Fred and George emerged from the crowd of people. "Well better late than never, I say," Fred said with a grin.

"Oy, beggars can't be choosers," George added. "Or would you rather us send this lot back to their dormitories?"

Ron was still completely in shock. "You two," he said to Harry and Hermione. "You two knew about this all along. That whole thing about the mirror was a trick."

"You catch on pretty fast Ron," Hermione said with a grin. "This was actually all Harry's idea."

"George and I planned the whole thing of course," Fred added immediately as if he wanted no one to have any doubt as to who the masterminds behind this party were.

"You guys are the greatest friends ever," Ron said. He looked as if he were about to explode with excitement. Hermione's heart pounded with relief. They were still friends! She smiled at the happy expression on his face. " Just you wait until you open your gift," She thought.

"Enough of this sentimental stuff; let's party," Fred said and with a wave of his wand, loud music started to play.

Everyone began laughing, talking, and dancing. The party was a complete success and for the next few hours, everyone took turns coming up to Ron to wish him a happy birthday. Ron recognized most of the first year students who were there. The rest of them seemed to be friends of people who he knew or friends of his older twin brothers. Almost everyone brought small gifts or wizard birthday cards which did everything from singing silly songs to shouting comical birthday insults. He opened Harry and Hermione's gifts last.

"Thanks for the chessboard Harry," Ron said with a grin. "Now I can beat you in style."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Ron." He glared, annoyed at his friend's gloating smile. Against his will, his frown twisted into a grin. " You're so full of yourself."

"Boys," Hermione said huffily as she handed Ron a small envelope. "Happy birthday, Ron."

"Hmm, well it's too small to be a book," Ron said taking the envelope.

" Ha ha. Just open it!" Hermione said impatiently, but she was smiling all the same.

He pulled out the two small cards and examined them. "Hermione…" he started breathlessly. "How did you find these? How did you even know?"

Hermione beamed. She could tell from Ron's reaction that he was definitely pleased with her gift, which made it worth all the effort she'd put into getting them. "As you keep telling me Ron, I'm the cleverest witch in our year."

"Thanks Hermione," Ron said grinning. "I mean it. I've been trying for months to complete the collection."

"Now his life's complete," George said with mock boredom.

"And thanks to you guys too," Ron said to his older twin brothers. "I can't believe you pulled this off, and without me knowing what was going on."

"Oh that was the easy part, dear brother," Fred said. "We can slip just about anything past you."

"What about this room though," Hermione pressed. "How are you keeping this party such a secret? I'm surprised we haven't woken the whole castle up with all the noise we've been making."

"When Bill was at Hogwarts, they had these kinds of parties all the time. He and his friends found the best rooms in the castle to have them in," Fred explained. "Some rooms already have special magical properties embedded in the walls; probably from Hogwarts students from way back when. They just have to be activated with special charms. This room is one of them. It's probably because it's barely used by the staff."

"There are silencing spells and room renewing spells, that quickly change the room back to its original form when the party's over," George continued. "There's also a special age charm on the door that makes it impossible for anyone over 18 to open the door, just in case Flitch decides to check in here. He'll just think the room is locked."

"But the best spell of all is one that we found ourselves. Once we get the party started, we use a threshold charm. If anyone does open the door, they won't see the party. They'll only see an empty classroom. Even if they walk inside, they won't see what's really going on unless they actually touch someone or something that they can't see."

"So you mean, a teacher could come in here right now and walk around the room, and as long as we stayed out of their way, they wouldn't know we're here," Hermione asked in awe. "That's got to be a complicated spell."

"Yeah, it is," Fred admitted. "Which is why we only use it when we have to. Don't worry though, George did the spell right after you, Harry, and Ron arrived."

George looked at his brother. "Uh, you mean you did it, right Fred?"

Fred's eyes widened. "No, I didn't. I told you to do it."

"No you didn't!"

"Well I meant too," Fred said in exasperation. "And you're my twin, you should have known anyway."

"Hey, Potter!" came a loud voice from the door that made everyone stop what they were doing. It was Draco Malfoy. He had a look of pure sadistic joy on his face. "Nice party Potter. I'm sure Professor Snape would love to join in on the festivities." With that he took off down the hall.

"Malfoy!" Harry called after him angrily, but it was too late.

"What do we do," Hermione said, biting her bottom look and dancing from foot to foot nervously.

"I don't know." Harry said quickly.

Everyone was beginning to panic. They knew they couldn't all leave at once because then they'd really be caught. They were all frozen in fear for a few terrible seconds that seemed like hours. Then someone broke through the crowd and went tearing out the door. It was Neville. He was going after Malfoy.

"What's he doing?" Ron said as he, Harry, and Hermione ran to the door and peered out. Several others joined them. They saw Malfoy retreating down the hall and Neville gaining on him. "I think Neville's finally snapped. He's going to try and attack Malfoy."

"Oh Neville," Hermione sighed.

But Ron was wrong. As he drew closer to Malfoy, Neville reached into his pocket and pulled out the small pouch he had shown Hermione earlier. He threw it as hard as he could down the hall and it hit Malfoy square in the back. A green powder exploded from the tiny bundle.

"What the…" Malfoy said as he turned around to see what hit him. Green smoky powder was swirling around him now. He saw Neville. "Why you little…" but Malfoy could barely speak now. He collapsed to the floor.

Hermione, Ron and Harry ran up to Neville. "What did you do to him?" Harry asked in shock.

"Standard sleeping powder; we learned about it in Herbology remember?" Neville said with a grin. "I may never be a great wizard, but I know my plants, especially dittany. He'll be out for hours."

"That was… that was amazing!" Ron stammered as they walked back to the dungeon. Hermione thumped Neville on the back. " Good thinking, Neville!"

Neville blushed. "Well I thought it might come in handy."

"Hey everybody, looks like the party's still on," Fred announced as he let Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville back in and shut the door. He had seen everything from the door. Everyone cheered and people were slapping Neville on the back for his quick thinking.

George quickly performed the threshold charm on the door as Fred climbed onto one of the tables to make an announcement. "Well before we tear into this wonderful birthday cake, provided for us by the Hogwarts kitchen staff, I'd like to give a toast to our little brother, Ron!" He raised his cup in the air. "You may be an annoying, scrawny little pain in the bum, but you're my brother and so I guess that makes up for it all. Happy 12th Birthday Ron."

"Cheers!" Everyone shouted as they raised their own cups.

Ron gave his brother a half grin. "Gee, you sure do know how to make a guy feel loved."

Everyone laughed. Fred waved his wand and the music started again. They began handing out slices of the huge sheet cake that had the words "Happy Birthday Ron" scribbled on it in blue icing.

"So how do you like your party, Ron?" Harry asked as he, Hermione, and Ron sat down at a table in the corner. "We're sorry we couldn't have done this earlier."

"You guys are the best friends I've ever had," he said with a huge grin on his face. For a moment, Hermione noticed, it looked as if he was going to be overcome with emotion but he quickly composed himself. "I really mean that. Thank you both for doing this for me." Hermione had the urge to lean over and hug him, but controlled it right away. She didn't want to spoil the moment.

The last few hours of the party went off without a hitch. People began to leave one at a time or in small groups so as not to get caught on their way back to their dormitories at three in the morning. Harry, Ron and Hermione were the last to leave except for Fred and George who said they were going to "clean up."

Ron was still beaming as they climbed through the portrait hole and into the Gryffindor common room. Despite all of the objections and concerns she had about the night party, Hermione was glad she was a part of it. It really seemed to have a positive affect on her friend. It was almost as good a feeling as she got when she was tormenting him.

Malfoy stormed up to the Gryffindor table Saturday morning at breakfast. "I'll get you for this Potter and you too Longbottom."

Neville involuntarily flinched at the sight of Malfoy and his two goons, Crab and Goyle, but Harry simply reached for a bowl of eggs. "What are you going on about now, Malfoy?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Filch caught me this morning at 4 AM, lying on the floor. He thought I was sneaking away from some party and just conked out on my way back to my house. I've got detention tomorrow night because of you!"

"You were at a party Malfoy?" Harry said, pretending this was the only part of the story he had heard. "You should have invited us."

"Harry!" Hermione said in her trademark chastising voice. "You know that's against the rules. You wouldn't want to do something like that. You could get caught." She grinned up at Malfoy. "Isn't that right?"

"Why you little mu-" Malfoy started.

"Mr. Malfoy." Professor McGonagall was right behind him. She and Dumbledore had already left the high table to leave the Great Hall and it was Malfoy's bad luck that they were right there to witness his attempted insult. "I believe your table is over there, is it not?" McGonagall said sternly. "Now you and your friends move along before I give you another detention."

Malfoy, Crab, and Goyle stormed off, saying nothing. McGonagall continued past but Dumbledore paused for a while longer.

"Mr. Weasley," he said quietly.

Ron looked up from his food, staring in awe at the legendary wizard in front of him. He gulped and Hermione knew what he was thinking. Did he somehow know about the party last night? Was he in trouble? "Uh, yes sir?" He said, his voice squeaking in masked fright.

"I almost forgot," the headmaster said apologetically with a twinkle in his eyes. "Happy birthday." He strolled off.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all stared after him. They had no way of telling if Dumbledore knew about the most recent night party but Hermione had a feeling that he may have had at least an idea of what went on. After all he had to have heard Malfoy's story from Filch.

"It looks like the famous Harry Potter has squeaked by again," she thought to herself with a grin, and she noticed that this didn't seem to bother her anymore.

A/N: Aw! This chapter had a lot of nice moments between friends and family, and of course, Hermione goes through a lot of trouble to get those cards for Ron. Looks like somebody's crush might be growing a bit? Review!


	14. Our Last Adventure

Chapter Summary: And now on to the dragon.

"So how are we going to get Hagrid to tell us more about the stone?" Hermione asked once again as she, Ron, and Harry found themselves trekking to Hagrid's cabin.

"We'll just ask him," Ron said matter-of-factly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, brilliant idea." This conversation was beginning to sound familiar.

It was late afternoon and they were right in the middle of their Easter holidays. Only an hour prior, they had seen Hagrid in the library and finally remember that they wanted to ask him more about the Sorcerer's Stone. He seemed a bit put off that they had actually discovered what Fluffy was guarding but also preoccupied by something else. Hagrid had come to the library to do some clandestine research on dragons, but they couldn't figure out why. Hermione could only guess that Hagrid was planning a trip to go visit some real life dragons. Perhaps it was his idea of a holiday.

Hermione noticed that all the curtains were closed and she wondered vaguely if Hagrid had already gone off somewhere. He knew they were coming. When Harry told him earlier that they wanted to ask him some questions, Hagrid asked them to come to the cabin later.

Harry knocked on the door and they heard Hagrid call to them from inside.

"It's us, Hagrid," Harry answered. The door flew open and Hagrid ushered them all in hurriedly before slamming it shut behind them. He seemed a bit on edge, as if he didn't want anyone to know that they were talking to him.

It was insanely warm inside the cabin, mostly because of the blazing fire in his fireplace. Hermione had no idea why Hagrid had a fire going but she supposed even though it was warm outside, Hagrid might be cold natured.

As Hagrid served them tea, Harry got right down to the point. "We were wondering and if you could tell us, what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from fluffy."

Hermione shook her head. "Yes, no use making small talk. We'll just outright ask him. Why are boys so remarkably dense?"

As expected, Hagrid played dumb. "Of course I can't. Number one, I don't know m'self. Number two, you know too much already so I wouldn't tell ya if I could."

Hermione thought about this as Hagrid continued on his tirade. She knew he was lying, she could tell it in his eyes. Now she just had to figure out the right button to push.

"Oh come on Hagrid," she started sweetly. "You might not want to tell us but you do know. You know everything that goes on around here. We only wondered who had done the guarding really. We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him… apart from you."

This last part seemed to be the clincher and Hermione could tell by the smile on Hagrid's face that her flattery had not gone in vain. She saw Harry smiling at her and knew he had been impressed by her quick thinking. "I'm good," she thought to herself.

After that it was easy to get the information they needed from Hagrid, but what they found out turned out to be even worse news than they could have ever expected. It seemed that five professors besides Dumbledore had done enchantments to help guard the stone, Sprout, Flitwick, McGonagall, Quirrell, and Snape. This was the last thing they wanted to hear.

"If Snape was in on protecting the stone, then he must know a way around all of the teacher's enchantments. He probably knows everything except how to get past Fluffy and whatever Quirrell did." Hermione glanced at Harry again and she could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy aren't you Hagrid?" Harry was asking Hagrid now. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you; not even one of the teachers?"

Hagrid confirmed that only he and Dumbledore knew this secret and that set them at ease. It would definitely take Snape a while to get past a creature like Fluffy. Not only was he ferocious but Hermione suspected that he was powerfully magical.

"Hagrid, can we have a window open?" Harry asked finally. "I'm boiling."

"Can't Harry, sorry" Hagrid said glancing at the fire.

Hermione looked too, and what she saw shocked her. Sitting in the fire was a large egg and she instantly knew what it was, a dragon's egg. Hermione had never seen a dragon's egg before; in fact of all the things she had read about in her summer studies, dragons hadn't been one of them. She'd never dreamed that they would be something she was to encounter at school but then again she never counted on meeting a dragon loving half-giant.

Hermione sat in stunned silence as Harry, Ron and Hagrid went to examine the egg. Hagrid explained to them how he had won it from a stranger in Hogsmeade. Who in their right mind would be walking around with a dragon egg in an all wizard's town if dragon breading was illegal?

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched," she finally asked.

It seemed obvious that Hagrid wasn't planning on keeping it. After all he would get in serious trouble. But she realized how wrong she was when Hagrid began to explain how he'd been reading up on dragon rearing from a book in the library. He was serious about keeping the egg which turned out to be a Norwegian Ridgeback. But dragons grew to be huge beasts. It would definitely be harder to keep confined than even a three-headed dog. Hagrid obviously wasn't thinking clearly, but nothing any of them said could convince him to give up the egg. They left in dismay.

"Okay, did that just happen?" Ron said as they stepped out of Hagrid's hut.

"No," Harry shook his head. "This is all a terrible dream. What are we going to do?" He seemed to turn instinctively to Hermione as if he expected her to have the answer already.

Hermione felt a headache coming on. She didn't think she had the energy to worry about anything else. Snape was trying to kill Harry and steal the Sorcerer's Stone. Hagrid was stupidly trying to raise a dangerous, fire-breathing dragon in a wooden cabin, but to top it off, Hermione's latest letter from her father had a subtle threat that if she didn't prove how much a Hogwarts education was worth, he might not let her return the next year.

She had written her mother to tell her about the party they had for Ron, minus the part about how many rules they broke to have it. Apparently her father had read it as well and was livid at the fact that Hermione was wasting her time partying when she was supposed to be studying. Now she had to prove that Harry and Ron weren't a "bad influence" on her. She just didn't need any more stress, not now, not when she was so close to exams.

"Hermione; are you listening?" Harry asked finally.

"I've got to go study," Hermione said suddenly and she ran off.

"That girl has a one track mind," Ron said.

No matter how many times they talked to Hagrid, he wasn't changing his mind about the dragon and Harry refused outright to go to McGonagall or Dumbledore about it. Seeing no other options, Hermione studied like there was no tomorrow. She rarely let her focus on schoolwork slip unless they were at Hagrid's hut working on new ways to get rid of the dragon egg. She wished Ron and Harry would at least act a little concerned about their impending exams but she realized that they didn't have the threat of never returning to Hogwarts looming over them.

She hadn't told them about her father's letter of course. She knew it would seem trivial to them what with dragons and evil schemes to occupy there minds but to her this was the most important thing. Hermione knew she was probably on the verge of alienating Harry and Ron but she also knew what she was doing was for the greater good. What would it matter if they managed to foil Snape's plot if she wasn't around the following year to enjoy the fruits of her labor? Several times she had to retreat to her hiding place on the castle ramparts to avoid Ron's wrath when he got tired of her nagging him about exams. All and all she was feeling very stressed and as much as she hated spending so much time apart from her new friends, she just wanted the year to end as quickly and uneventfully as possible.

Unfortunately that just didn't seem possible. A little over a week after they discovered Hagrid having the egg, he sent word via Hedwig one morning during breakfast that it was finally hatching.

"Excellent!" Ron said excitedly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "What's excellent about it? I was half hoping it would never hatch. Now that it is, there's no way he'll be able to keep it a secret. He's going to get in trouble with the ministry for this, you know."

Ron was ignoring her. "We've got to go see Hagrid before it finishes hatching, Harry."

"We should tell Dumbledore. He likes Hagrid; he can keep him out of trouble and get rid of the dragon," Hermione continued.

"You want us to tell on Hagrid. What kind of friend are you?" Ron asked.

"I'm trying to keep Hagrid from being arrested. You're encouraging him. What kind of friend are you?" Hermione counted. She was steaming. Sometimes being friends with Ronald Weasley wasn't worth all of the abuse she endured from him.

"Harry, let's skip Herbology," Ron said ignoring her again.

"Ron! You're going to skip class? Are you trying to get in trouble along with Hagrid now?"

"No one said you had to come, little miss perfect," Ron told her.

"Oh and what am I supposed to say when Professor Sprout asks where you two are?"

"You do know how to lie don't you?" Ron's temper was rising.

Hermione's rose to match it. "Oh so now you want me to lie for you? Why don't we all just march off to McGonagall and ask her to expel us right now?"

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?" Ron reasoned.

"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble and that nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing."

"Shut up," Harry said suddenly.

Hermione was shocked for a moment until she saw Harry jerk his head to the side. Malfoy had been listening in on their conversation only a few feet away. When he realized that they weren't going to say anymore, he continued down the hall.

"How much do you think he heard," Harry said finally as they continued to the greenhouses.

"Probably everything considering Hermione was practically shouting about it," Ron said matter-of-factly.

"Me!" Hermione squealed. "I don't believe I'm the one who said 'how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching.'"

"What's gotten into you lately?" Ron asked. "You know I thought you'd finally loosened up but now you're more unbearable than ever."

"Ron…" Harry started. He must have known that Ron had gone too far.

"Oh so now I'm unbearable? Well excuse me for ruining your fun, Ron, but one of us has to be the practical one and sense you've obviously flushed your brains; I guess it has to be me. And if it makes me unreasonable not to want to get expelled before our first year is even over then I'm ever so sorry!"

"Harry, let's just make a slight detour," Ron said, choosing to ignore Hermione once again. "If we go now, we could probably just be a little late to Herbology. Professor Sprout won't care."

"We'll go during morning break," Harry said stoically. "Hermione's right. No use calling attention to ourselves. If we scave off Herbology, we might end up getting Hagrid in trouble."

"Oh alright," Ron sighed.

Hermione sighed as well. She was glad Harry had stuck up for her but she was growing weary of constantly feeling like she had to prove herself. The stress of school and her personal life were starting to overwhelm her. She wished that she could talk to Harry about it but he had his hands full mediating between her and Ron. She didn't want to add to his pile of stressors.

She started to walk into the greenhouse behind Ron but then suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder which made her jump. "Calm down," Harry said almost soothingly, he must have noticed how frustrated she looked. "Ron's right you know…"

"What; you think I'm being unbearable too?" she hissed.

"No, a little high strung perhaps but… that's not the point." He gave her a half grin. "I meant Ron's right about this being the only time we'll get to see a dragon at all, let alone see it hatch. You have to be at least a bit curious."

Hermione returned the grin, despite herself. Why did he always have to be right?

They arrived at Hagrid's just in time. The egg hadn't finished hatching yet. The trio grabbed chairs and sat around the table to watch with baited breath as the baby dragon made its final efforts to escape. Finally the egg split open with a loud crack and the small black scaly dragon flopped out onto the table. It all seemed very anticlimactic to Hermione. She didn't know exactly what she was expecting but she didn't think this overgrown lizard was worth all the fuss Hagrid was making.

It seemed very large nowjust after the hatching, and as it nipped at Hagrid's hand she noticed it already had fangs. If it was this big already..., "Hagrid, how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow exactly?"

Hagrid looked like he was about to answer but then he noticed something just behind Hermione. He leapt to his feet. "Someone was looking through the gap in the curtains. It's a kid; he's running back up to the school."

Harry ran to the door and flung it open. Hermione didn't even need to hear him mutter the word, "Malfoy," to know exactly who it was.

"We're dead," Ron said with a shudder. "Malfoy has been waiting for a chance to get back at us."

"Oh now you're worried about getting in trouble. Why is it you're always worried after the fact, huh?" Hermione snapped. "We could have avoided all this if you'd have just listened to me."

"Listened to you? I feel like that's all I do is listen to you 'cause you're always talking!" Ron shouted. "You act like you know everything."

"We'll it's better than acting like an idiot," Hermione countered. She regretted what she said as soon as she said it. Ron looked as if he had just been slapped. She regretted her words even more when he didn't retaliate. They stared at each other without saying a word, then Ron turned away.

"This isn't helping," Harry said shortly. "Hagrid maybe it's time to consider what you're going to do now that it's hatched. You're not going to keep it are you?"

Hagrid had barely heard a word of their conversation. He had the baby dragon in his arms and he was rocking it back and forth saying "Now what are we going to call you little fella'."

"He's cracked," Ron said quietly.

Harry shrugged. "Let's go, we'll try talking to him later."

"We should go to Dumbledore," Hermione chimed again as they let themselves out of the cabin.

"We're not going to risk getting Hagrid into trouble," Harry said.

"Hello! Wake up Harry, Hagrid's already in trouble. We can only minimize the damage. If we go to Dumbledore now…"

Harry spun on his heels to face her. He had a strained and almost angry look in his eyes. "We're not going to tell on Hagrid," he said very slowly so as to make himself clear.

Hermione gulped. She had never seen Harry so upset. "Alright… so now what?"

"I'll think of something."

It had been almost a week and Harry still hadn't thought of anything. Hermione had stopped offering suggestions because she knew that anything she had to offer would involve telling an adult the truth and Harry had made it very clear he didn't want that. She had separated herself from the boys more, choosing the study alone rather than be involved in more pointless arguments. The only times she spent with them were during meals and when they went down to visit Hagrid and the baby dragon, and to top it all off, Ron still wasn't speaking to her.

She spent many late nights on the ramparts just staring up at the night sky and trying to unwind. Harry hadn't come to visit her up there in several weeks so she was very surprised to see him one evening just before midnight.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were avoiding us," Harry said as he stepped off of his Nimbus 2000 onto the castle wall. "You're not still studying are you? Because you know, we have a common room for that."

"Do you always have to make jokes?" Hermione said with a bite of impatience.

"No but it beats being in a sour mood all the time like some people I've seen lately," Harry said, still grinning.

"I'm not in a sour mood," Hermione said defensively. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"We all do, Hermione," Harry reminded her. "I know it's a lot to deal with but…"

"No Harry, you don't understand. It's more than just Snape and Hagrid."

"Oh," Harry sat down beside her. "Then what is it?"

"I…" Hermione started. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Okay, well I guess you don't have to then," Harry conceded. "Well Ron and I are going down to Hagrid's to talk to him again. You want to come? We could use a level head."

Hermione stood and stretched. "Oh, alright but I don't know how much help I'm going to be. My brain feels like mush."

Harry hopped back on his broomstick and Hermione started down the trap door. In a few minutes they had collected Ron and made their way to the gamekeeper's cabin. Hermione pretty much sat in silence as Harry and Ron talked with Hagrid. She barely heard any of the conversation that took place. Her mind was still mulling over her present predicament. The past few weeks she'd done almost nothing but study. She was ready, she knew it. Perhaps Harry and Ron were right; she needed to just relax for a while.

"What do you think Hermione?" she heard Harry ask her. She hadn't been listening to anything.

"Think about what?" she asked.

"Haven't you been listening to us at all?" He said, annoyed.

"Yes, I just sort of zoned out. What did I miss?"

"We were saying we could send an owl to Charlie, you know Ron's brother. He deals with dragons. He could keep Norbert and then set him free in the wild when he's old enough," Harry summarized.

Hermione had to think about who they were talking about but then she realized that 'Norbert' must be what Hagrid was calling the baby dragon. "Right, it sounds like a good idea,"

"I could just as easily raise Norbert here," Hagrid said stubbornly.

Hermione realized this must have been why Harry asked her opinion. He needed her to think of a way to convince Hagrid to give up the dragon.

"Oh Hagrid," Hermione started sweetly. "Nobody's arguing with you there. If anyone can raise… uh… Norbert, it's you. It's just that… you have so many other responsibilities here. Dumbledore depends on you in so many ways and would be so disappointed if he knew that you were unable to tend to your gamekeeping duties because of this. The castle would fall apart without you."

"She's right," Harry agreed readily, "things are already starting to go down hill."

Hagrid's brow furrowed. "Well, I don't want to let Dumbledore down, not after all he's done for me. I guess you're right. Go ahead and send that letter to yer brother, Ron. I guess it's for the best."

A few minutes later, Ron, Harry, and Hermione were walking across the courtyard back to the castle. "That was good Hermione," Harry said.

"What's up with you lately?" Ron asked suddenly, and she jumped, surprised that he had actually spoken to her. "You always seem so preoccupied."

"I've got a lot on my mind," Hermione answered vaguely.

"You think about schoolwork too much," Ron concluded aloud.

"Thank you, Ron," Hermione snapped. "If you hadn't told me that for the millionth time, I'd have never known." She hadn't meant to snap at Ron, but with all of the things going on in her life, she just couldn't take any more of a burden. Especially from someone who was supposed to be her friend.

"Can you two have one conversation without arguing?" Harry sighed.

"No!" Hermione and Ron said in unison.

"Hermione," Harry put down his quill. He and Hermione were sitting at a table in the common room, a pile of books between them.

"Huh," Hermione said without looking up.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hermione said automatically.

"That's not going to work anymore," Harry said. "The closer we get to the end of term, the worse you get. I can't honestly believe that you're this stressed about exams. There's something else. Why won't you tell me?"

"I don't want to…"

"Worry me; I know." Harry nodded. "But you're already worrying me. So you might as well just tell me now."

Hermione dropped her quill. "I just… I'm afraid of not being able to come back next year."

Harry gave her a puzzled look. "What? You can't possibly be worried about not passing exams to get into second year."

"I'm not… I'm worried that my parents won't let me come back."

"Why?" Harry asked shocked.

"My father, he doesn't think Hogwarts is good for me. He doesn't understand how happy I've been. He thinks I've just been slacking off, not taking things seriously because I'm away from home. He thinks it'd be better if I went to the local school." Hermione was beginning to tear up.

Harry was speechless for a moment.

"See, this is why I didn't tell you," Hermione said through a sob. "There's nothing you can say or do to help me. There's really nothing I can do except pass my exams and hope that convinces my father to let me stay."

"Well, you're right," Harry started slowly. "There really isn't anything I can do, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't tell me these things. You can't stress alone. You need other people to stress with you," he gave her a half grin.

"Don't you think you have enough to worry about, Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "It gives me something to think about besides exams." Harry leaned back in his chair. "Didn't you tell me that your family has some sort of motto: 'Grangers can do anything'?"

Hermione blushed, "Yeah it's our credo. I know, it's a little conceited but I grew up on that."

"Well, I've known you for a while now and I'm beginning to think it's true. You're the cleverest witch in our year Hermione and I've seen you pull off things Ron and I wouldn't even dream of. If anyone can convince your father to let you come back next year, it's you. I can't believe you'd just give up like this. It doesn't sound very 'Granger' at all."

"Well maybe I'm not a very good Granger," Hermione sighed.

Harry was about to rebut that when the clock on the wall chimed signaling that it was midnight. At that same moment, the portrait door swung open. Ron appeared as he threw off Harry's invisibility cloak.

"It bit me," were the first words out of his mouth. The baby dragon that Hagrid loved so much was already almost as big as the hut and showing its true nature. Hermione immediately jumped up and rushed to Ron's side. Taking his hand in hers, she examined it. Ron's hand was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief now and from the looks of it, the bite would take several days to heal without proper medical treatment.

Ron looked very white and clamy. His whole body was shaking. Hermione began to wonder if Norwegian Ridgebacks were poisonus. With this startling new thought in her mind, she discovered that she too was shaking.

Trying not to imagine what would happen if they didn't act fast, Hermione was about to suggest that he go to the hospital wing when there was a tap on the window. It was Hedwig with the much awaited response from Ron's older brother, Charlie. "Owls are so clever. Hedwig even knew that this letter was too secret to be delivered at morning mail," she thought as Harry rushed to let her in.

Charlie seemed more than willing to take the dragon so long as they could successfully transport the creature to him in a clandestine manner. He instructed them to bring the baby dragon to the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday. They all decided that though it would be difficult, it was their best and only option. Ron folded the letter with his good hand and shoved it in his pocket.

"You should really get that looked at by Madam Pomfrey," Hermione advised returning to their previous conversation, gripping Ron's injured hand just a bit too tightly. When he cried out in pain, she let go, muttering an embarrassed apology. " I'll go with you," She offered.

"I can't, what will I do if she asks how I got this thing?" Ron said nervously.

"It could get infected," Hermione warned.

"I'll take my chances," Ron said as he headed for the stairs leading to his dormitory.

"He's so stubborn," Hermione muttered louder than she intended. " At least let me see what I can do," She called after him, reaching for her wand in the front of her robes." When he didn't respond, Hermione sank back into her seat with a sigh. " He's still mad at me isn't he?"

"Well look on the bright side, this will be one less thing to worry about," Harry said in an effort to cheer her up. " Come Saturday, Norbert will be gone. Snape hasn't shown any sign of getting closer to getting past Fluffy. Exams will be here soon and you'll be able to show your father just how good a witch you really are."

Hermione did feel like a weight was being lifted off her shoulders. "Maybe you're right...  
I think I'll head to bed too." She cast a worried glance at the staircase to the boy's dormitories.

" Don't worry about Ron," Harry said, knowing what she was thinking. " I'll pursuade him to go to the hospital wing."

" Of course he always listens to you," She said huffily. " I don't get how he could possibly still hate me after all I've done for him since we became friends. What doesn't he like about me?" She fretted.

" Oh, come on, Ron listens to you... sometimes. And he does like you, trust me." Hermione was too busy worrying that she didn't notice the little smile on Harry's face.

" I mean, when I taught him that charm I thought we were getting somewhere, and then I thought that the birthday party sealed the deal, but nooo-"

" Hermione," Harry cut in. " Relax. Go to bed."

" Oh, all right!" She snapped, putting up her books, ink, and quills.

"What? But I thought you still had a few hours of studying left in you." Harry grinned as she started towards her own dormitory. "You know maybe you could re-read the Standard Book of Spells Grades 1, 2, and 3, tonight."

"Shut up, Harry!" Hermione called with a laugh as she started up the stairs.

Hermione's brief moment of relaxation was shattered the next day as she walked out of the hospital wing. They had just been to visit Ron who had finally given in and gone to see Madam Pomfrey and not a moment too soon. It seemed that Norbert had somehow poisoned him and if he hadn't been a wizard, he'd probably have died from the bite. But that wasn't the worst of it. Malfoy had come to taunt Ron about the dragon and in doing so had inadvertently left with a book that contained Charlie's reply to Ron. Now Malfoy knew everything. There was no telling what he would do.

'It's too late to change the plan now," Harry sighed. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it and we have got the invisibility cloak. Malfoy doesn't know about that."

"We're dead," Hermione muttered.

"You're being negative," Harry told her.

"Of course I'm being negative!" Hermione almost shouted in exasperation. "We're going to get caught. We're going to get expelled. I'm never going to be able to come back to Hogwarts. I might as well be dead."

"Now you're overreacting," Harry informed her.

"I'm not overeating. I'm right about this and you know it. Even with the invisibility cloak we don't stand a chance if Malfoy has the whole castle looking for us while we're trying to sneak a dragon around at midnight."

"We'll get through this. We've been in worse fixes and haven't gotten caught."

"No we haven't!" Hermione disagreed. "This is by far the worst thing we've tried to pull all year."

"And we'll get through it like all the others," he assured her.

"Don't you think you're pushing your luck?"

Harry shrugged. "Probably."

"Harry can I ask you something seriously?"

"What is it?"

"Why won't you even consider going to Dumbledore about this. I mean, you were really adamant about it. I've never seen you that way."

Harry sighed. "We both know Hagrid's breaking the law by harboring an illegal dragon. Even if Dumbledore goes easy on him there's no telling what the Ministry of Magic will do if they find out. I don't want Hagrid to get in that kind of trouble."

"I know Hagrid's our friend, but he can take care of himself. You shouldn't feel obligated to protect him. Not like this."

Harry shook his head. "Hagrid's more than just a friend. He was the first person in the wizarding world to befriend me. He made me feel accepted when I was afraid that I wasn't going to fit in. I don't really have any family Hermione but Hagrid…" he trailed off.

Hermione nodded. "Okay, I understand." She let out another sight. "Let's just get this over with."

"If you don't want to go through with this whole thing, I'll understand."

"No. You're going to need my help now that Ron's in the hospital for a while and besides… I know you'd do it for me if I was harboring an illegal dragon." She smiled.

"Uh… yeah," Harry said not knowing for sure if she was joking or not.

"Saturday at midnight we have our last late night adventure." She made sure to emphasize the word last. "It'll be our greatest scheme."

Saturday evening didn't seem to come fast enough for Hermione, but the closer it came the more nervous she became. She just wanted the whole ordeal to be over with so she could have one crisis behind her for a change. She felt excited and nervous all at the same time. That evening, she waited until she was sure her two roommates were fast asleep before sneaking down to the common room to meet Harry. It was slightly past 11 when she arrived. Harry was already waiting for her.

"I didn't think everyone would be in bed so early," Harry said as he pulled out the invisibility cloak. "Guess we're just lucky tonight. Have you seen Neville?"

"Neville? He's not in your dorm?" Hermione asked as she stepped up beside Harry.

"Nope, I don't know where he is. I hope he didn't get locked out the tower again." He threw the cloak over their heads.

Hermione watched her body disappeared. "We can't worry about Neville now. Let's go."

They made their way slowly out of the portrait hole and down the corridor.

"We're cutting it kind of close aren't we?" Hermione whispered as they started down one flight of stairs. "Do you think we'll make it in time?"

"So far so good," Harry said.

They continued quickly to the main entrance. As they descended the last flight of stairs they heard a loud thud. The noise came so suddenly that Hermione instinctively grabbed Harry's arm. "What was that," she said.

"I think it's Peeves." Harry said as they heard a cackle.

She was glad Harry couldn't see her face. She was sure she looked terribly frightened.

They stood in the entrance hall and watched Peeves smack around a muggle tennis ball. Where he had gotten it from was anyone's guess. There was no way they could get around him so they just waited.

"Where did he come from anyway?" Harry whispered to Hermione as they stood by the stairs.

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. Nothing in 'Hogwarts: A History' says anything about him."

"He's so annoying. Why doesn't Dumbledore get rid of him?"

"I suppose he thinks it's good for us to have a poltergeist around. We need to learn how to handle any situation. You have to admit, Peeves does present certain challenges we couldn't get anywhere else."

"True."

They stood and watched him for ten minutes. She was so close to Harry under the invisibility cloak she could hear him breathe. "I wonder what he's thinking about right now. He's probably trying to figure out how we're going to get Norbert up to the astronomy tower in less than 30 minutes. He's probably thinking about how we're going to avoid Filch and possibly Snape and Malfoy. And I'm standing here thinking: I wonder what Harry Potter is thinking. I'm wondering what I'm going to do if I can't come back to Hogwarts next year. I know I'd miss Harry and Ron so much. This year has been really great despite all the insanity. I've made some really good friends, I've learned a lot and I've gotten my priorities straight. I actually thought about making good friends before studies. That's got to count for something. Still it'd be nice if I didn't ramble as much. I mean I'm rambling right now and I'm not even talking."

Harry prodded her arm. "Come on." Peeves was on his way to the dungeons and they could finally make it to the main entrance.

As they came closer to Hagrid's hut, they shed the invisibility cloak. Hagrid was already outside. He had Norbert in a large crate. It would definitely be cumbersome to carry. Hermione tried to perform a levitation charm, but something about the dragon prevented it from working. Even though it was just a baby, Norbert was still a powerfully magical creature and very few spells would work on the crate while he was in it. They'd have to carry him the old fashioned way.

As Hagrid said his final goodbyes, Harry started to cover the crate with the invisibility cloak. "You were right Hermione. The cloak can cover just about anything of reasonable size," He said as he watched the crate, Norbert and all, vanish. He stepped underneath it himself at the front of the crate and Hermione went to the rear. When they were sure that they were completely covered, they started off back towards the castle.

Hermione was already struggling under the weight of the crate. "How are we going to get this thing all the way up to the astronomy tower, Harry? I can barely hold him as it is. I wish he'd quit lashing about."

"I know a shortcut. It should help," Harry called as they neared the main entrance again. "Just follow my lead."

Unfortunately the shortcut didn't help much. It eliminated about three flights of stairs but it was still a good twenty minute walk through the castle. Fortunately they didn't run into Peeves, Filch, or any professors on their way. Hermione was beginning to wonder if Malfoy had actually bothered to look inside the book he had taken from Ron. Maybe they had lucked out again and he didn't even know about their plans.

Then just as they started down the corridor to the tower, they heard a noise up ahead. Hermione followed Harry as he led them against a wall and they watched two silhouetted people in the distance. It was Malfoy and Professor McGonagall. From what she could hear, McGonagall had caught Malfoy trying to sneak up to the astronomy tower. Malfoy was trying to tell her about Harry, Hermione, and the dragon but the story sounded so ridiculous that she wouldn't even listen to him.

Hermione almost snickered. It really did look like their luck would hold out. Now that Malfoy was caught they'd have no problems getting up to the tower and back again. They were home free. They almost bounded up the last flight of stairs to the top of the astronomy tower.

When Harry threw off the invisibility cloak, Hermione finally let out the snicker she had been holding in. "Ha! Malfoy's got detention, I could sing." She skipped around the top of the tower, glad to be able to breathe again. Being stuck under the invisibility cloak with a struggling dragon was not her idea of fun.

Harry gave her a quizzical look. "Don't."

"Oh come on Harry," Hermione said leaning on the ramparts. "We've won. We made it. I'd have thought you'd be a bit more excited."

"I'll just be glad when this is all over."

"So will I but right now I feel great," she spun around again. "I feel like all my worries have just disappeared. I mean, we're getting rid of Norbert. Snape hasn't tried anything since the quidditch match against Hufflepuff. Exams will be here soon and I plan to be top of our class." Hermione walked up to him and started poking him playfully in the shoulder. "Harry Potter you have a charmed life, you know that? Everything goes right for you. Ever since I've met you, my life has just been one amazing event after another."

Harry stayed her hand. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just try to live one day to the next. It's not my fault that weird and bizarre circumstances seem attracted to me."

"But you can't tell me you don't enjoy all this," Hermione pressed.

"I love being a wizard and I wouldn't want to be anywhere other than Hogwarts but trust me, my life isn't perfect. You know that."

Hermione nodded. "Being famous isn't all that it's cracked up to be."

"Not when you've got idiots like Malfoy watching you every move trying to make a fool of you."

"Don't worry about that stupid git; he's just jealous."

"Maybe if he could see things from my point of view, he'd realize there's nothing to be jealous of."

Hermione shook him playfully. "Of course he's got something to be jealous of, not everyone is lucky enough to have me for a friend."

Harry gave her a half grin. "Oh yes, whatever what I do without your constant nagging for me to study."

"Hey it's either that or marry me to get good grades," Hermione teased.

Harry laughed. "Ron would never stand for it."

"I'm sure he's just mad he didn't think of it first."

"Could be," Harry said vaguely.

"Hey what's that supposed to mean!" Hermione demanded.

"Say look, I think I see them," Harry said pointing up.

"Wait a minute, you didn't answer my question," Hermione pressed, but Harry pretended he didn't know what she was talking about and soon four broomsticks were descending upon them and they had other things to worry about.

"Oy you Ron Weasley?" One of men asked Harry.

"Of course he's not, dragon-warts," another answered for Harry, "He ain't got red hair."

"Blimey, look at this," a third one, a woman, said, pointing at Harry's head. "You're… you're…."

"Harry Potter," the fourth finished for her.

"Cheery lot, aren't they," Harry grinned at Hermione.

"Not too terribly bright though," Hermione thought as Harry shook hands all around.

The tallest of them did the introductions. "I'm Sean; this is Leslie, Stephan, and Lawrence."

"Who's the little missy," Stephan asked.

"Hermione Granger," Hermione said shaking their hands as well. Then she noticed the harness that they were strapping to their brooms. She began to examine it, intrigued. "Oh this is interesting, I was wondering how you were going to transport the dragon. This is actually quite clever. Oh and you have a binding charm on this too. That'll definitely keep him from moving." She poked their brooms with her wand, "How did you do this, you made yourselves temporarily unplotable. That's amazing."

"Clever little missy, isn't she." Sean said as the four friends began to strap Norbert in. "Not too many first years can recognize embedded charms."

Hermione beamed.

They had finished strapping the crate in and were now remounting their brooms. "Hate to run, but we've got a lot of sky to cover before daylight," Leslie told them.

"Don't let Filch catch you on your way back to your dorms," Stephan warned. " That man was always after me when I was a student here." He grinned, remembering.

"Keep an eye on this little missy," Lawrence said to Harry as they began to rise in the air. "She's got real spirit. You and Ronnie better keep her, you hear? You know what they say: behind ever good wizard, there's an even better witch."

"Who says that?" Sean scoffed. "Nobody says that."

"People say that!" Lawrence insisted.

"What people?" Leslie asked.

"People!" Lawrence practically shouted.

"I think you've been hanging around those stupid American gits too much," Sean said.

They continued to argue like this as they started off through the night sky. Hermione and Harry laughed.

"Everywhere you go, you make new friends," Hermione said as they headed towards the trap door.

"Me?" Harry said incredulously, "What about you, 'little missy'? At least I have an excuse, I'm famous. You stand out without having a scar on your forehead."

" Oh, right. I'm terrible at making friends and most of the time even the most enthusiastic of people think I'm the most irritating person on earth." Hermione was expecting him to disagree, was surprised when he didn't. In fact, he was trying to surpress the tiniest smile. She shoved him and he laughed. " True, you are the most irritating person on earth," He smiled. " But it's okay. I still like you." Hermione rolled her eyes. " Thanks..."

They started down the spiral staircase feeling light and free for the first time in weeks. It was really finally over. "You know what Harry?" Hermione started. "About what Stephan said about Filch…"

He wasn't listening. "Hermione do you get the feeling we forgot something?"

They hit the bottom of the stairwell and as they did, Hermione realized what he was talking about. "Harry we forgot the…"

But it was too late, before they knew it, Filch was upon them. "Well, well, well… we are in trouble," he said with a wide sadistic grin.

Hermione couldn't move; she could barely breathe. The room she was sitting in seemed hazy to her. She was only vaguely aware of the other people. There was Harry of course. He too looked like the wind had been knocked out of him. There was Professor McGonagall; she was ranting and raving about how they were a disgrace to Gryffindor. And then there was Neville. They had found out why he had gone missing. He had been roaming the castle all night, trying to find Harry to warn him about Malfoy. Now he too was caught and facing the wrath of the deputy headmistress.

McGonagall had no idea what was going on and there was no way that Harry and Hermione could explain the true nature of the situation to her, so she drew her own conclusion. Obviously Harry had tried to con Malfoy into believing he had a dragon so Malfoy would end up out of bed looking for them. She was livid that so many Gryffindor students were breaking rules that night that she docked 150 points from the house and gave them all detention.

Hermione looked up, and saw Harry. He looked as if he was begging her to come up with some story that would satisfy McGonagall and ease their punishment but one look in the angry professor's eyes told Hermione that nothing she could come up with would be enough to get them out of this mess.

After assigning their punishment and promising that letters would be going to all of their parents, she left with orders for them to return to Gryffindor Tower. Hermione was still sitting numb.

"Hermione…" Harry shook her a little. "We should go."

"I don't believe this. It's true isn't it?" Neville was almost shouting in the corner. "You were just trying to trick Malfoy and you got me in trouble too. I don't believe this. I trusted you!"

"Neville, that's not true. It's just very complicated." Harry told him. He was shaking Hermione harder now, trying to get her to help him.

"Do I look stupid to you? Oh that's right, I forgot. To you I am stupid aren't I? Just stupid little Longbottom who can't stand a cauldron the right way up!"

"Neville, we had no idea you were going to go out looking for Malfoy or us. We didn't want you to get involved."

"Well I am involved. Now we've lost 150 points from Gryffindor and it's all your fault! I'm going to be in so much trouble with my gran..." He stormed out of the room.

Harry sighed. "He'll come around." He knelt down in front of Hermione's chair. "Hermione… are you in there," she still looked catatonic. "Hermione, snap out of it."

"Do you know what this means," she whispered.

"We'll be okay," Harry assured her. "We just…"

"It will not be okay!" She shouted. "I'm dead. When my parents find out…" She dissolved into tears. "They'll never let me come back. I'm finished here." She bolted out of her chair and ran out the room. She didn't want him to see her this way. She didn't stop running until she had bounded up the four flights of stairs to Gryffindor Tower. She gave the password, ran up to her dormitory, and threw herself in bed. It was all over.

No more Hogwarts for her, and her parents would make sure of that.

A/N: I know. Much deeper understanding from Hermione than in the Philosopher's Stone. I feel terrible for her, don't you? Review!


	15. Outcasts In Detention

_Chapter Summary: Hermione is an outcast again. From fame to folly; how will she deal? This chapter also does detention from Hermione's point of view (big surprise since this whole fic is from Hermione's point of view). See what happens when Harry's off with Malfoy among other things._

Hermione felt like she was in a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from. Only a few weeks ago she was happier than she'd ever been in her entire life. She was at the one of the greatest schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Europe. She had friends, one of them being the famous Harry Potter. She was even beginning to be respected by her peers. Now she had nothing. The only people who would speak to her were Ron and Harry and they barely said anything as well.

The entire school had turned on Harry, Hermione and Neville. They had lost so many points from Gryffindor that there was no way they could win the house cup. Slytherin had been winning it for years now and this was the first year that Gryffindor had a chance to defeat them. Now there was no hope.

Hermione had other things to worry about though. Monday morning, she got a letter. She had been dreading its arrival as she knew it would be from her parents. When she opened it though, she found that it wasn't from her father but rather her mother which made the words ten times worse.

"Hermione,

We just received word from your deputy headmistress that you and your friends were caught out of bed Saturday evening. From what we can gather you and your friends were playing a joke on another student and it got dangerously out of hand.

I don't think I need to tell you that your father and I are very disappointed in you. I can understand that you want to balance your school work and social life, and you know that I've always supported your choices, but after hearing this shocking news, I can see things have gotten way out of control. Perhaps you are just too young to be off of your own.

I know how happy you've been at Hogwarts but your father and I have to do what we feel is best for you. So we're going to have a nice long talk when you get home at the end of term about what we're going to do for school next year. There definitely need to be some changes. We hope that you will stay out of trouble for the remainder of the year as we do not want to receive any more disturbing correspondences from your school.

Remember that we love you Hermione and that we're not doing this to make your life miserable. We just want to do what's right for you. We'll talk more about it when you arrive home."

Hermione read and reread the letter all that week. There was no doubt; her parents were going to pull her out of Hogwarts. There was nothing she could do about it. McGonagall's letter had sealed her fate. She didn't know what to do except end the year on as positive a note as possible and hope that her negotiating skills could at least keep her out of boarding school for the rest of her academic career.

Hermione began to realize how fickle people could really be. At the beginning of the year she was despised by almost everyone because she knew so much. Then she became friends with Harry Potter and people started to like her. Then when the rumor spread that she had saved Harry's life, she was fairly popular. Now she was an outcast again. It made her realize that she couldn't depend on anyone. The only person who didn't seem to be fickle was Harry but right now that hardly mattered since everyone hated him now too. She wondered if it would ever blow over. She wondered if it even mattered since the chances of her returning next year were non-existent.

As much as she wanted to, Hermione didn't return to her secret place on the ramparts because she didn't want to risk sneaking out of Gryffindor in the middle of the night. So she spent most of her time with Harry and Ron in the library or off in a corner of the common room. Everyone left them alone and she was actually glad for this. She made sure to go to bed long after her two roommates because she didn't want to be in the same room alone with the two of them. She had no idea what they thought of the whole ordeal and didn't want to know.

The thing that upset Hermione the most was that they had gotten in trouble to protect Hagrid and now it looked as if Hagrid wasn't going to stick up for them. Of course Harry would never tell on the gamekeeper, not after all he had done to keep him out of trouble, but Hermione had thought that when word spread about what happened, Hagrid would finally speak up and admit to Dumbledore what was really going on. It seemed though that Hagrid was either too broken up about losing Norbert or too afraid of what might happen to him if word got out about his illegal dragon. In either case, he had said nothing on their behalf.

The only true blessing was that time seem to go by remarkably fast now. She floated through each day in a haze. She barely remembered anything about her classes, meals, or any time that involved interacting with her schoolmates. The only times that seemed lucid in her memory were when she was with Harry and Ron, alone. They only spoke about homework and exams and Hermione was grateful for this. She felt that talking about their present predicament would only make things worse.

Harry seemed to be thinking along the same lines. He didn't have to worry about his aunt and uncle being mad at him. In fact from what she could tell, they didn't even read the letter that McGonagall had sent. Still, he had to stay away from the other students. He had it much worse than she did. All Hermione had to do was stay quiet and class and avoid pretty much everyone and she was left alone. But Harry was already so famous and so well known that people from every house sought him out to mock him or express their anger. He had nowhere to escape. So now he, like Hermione, was spending all his free time studying for the upcoming exams. He rarely spoke about anything else, until one early afternoon about a week after they'd gotten into trouble.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were in the library studying astronomy when he suddenly slammed his book down. "I've got to have a break. I think I'll go up to the tower and grab a snack from our dormitory." He got up from their table and started out of the library.

"Bring me something too, would ya," Ron called after him. "Oy, he's having a time," he said to Hermione. "I've never seen him like this."

Hermione only nodded numbly.

"You're not looking well yourself," Ron said concerned. "You shouldn't worry so much; it's the end of the year. By next term, this'll be old news."

"Too bad I won't be here next year," Hermione thought to herself.

"Come on, quiz me," Ron said.

"What?"

"I want to see how much of this stuff I've actually learned. Quiz me." Hermione smiled for the first time in days. She liked quizzing Ron for some reason. Probably because he was always surprising her, either knowing the answer, or mostly not knowing. And then she profitted from it herself because she would end up having to tell him the answer and then he call her a know-it-all and she would pretend not to notice...

Hermione sighed and picked up their astronomy book. "Alright, you asked for it."

She drilled Ron on the material for several minutes. He was doing exceptionally well. Hermione was surprised how smart he could be when he tried. She was about to say this to him, then suddenly, Harry burst back into the library.

"Did you bring me back something?" Ron asked. "I'm starved."

"You just had lunch," Hermione chastised.

"It's happening," Harry said, a look of panic on his face. "Snape's done it."

"He's got to Quirrell?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded.

"Snape's done it then," Ron sighed. "If Quirrell's told him how to break his anti-dark-force spell…"

"There's still Fluffy though," Hermione reminded him. She knew where Ron's logic was going. She could see the light of adventure being rekindled in his eyes.

Ron shrugged. "Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid. I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant, three-headed dog."

Hermione seriously doubted this as she had been looking on and off for creatures like Fluffy ever since she'd seen him and hadn't found one yet.

"So what do we do Harry?" Ron asked finally.

"Go to Dumbledore," Hermione pleaded. She knew how persuasive Ron could be and for once she didn't want Harry to go along with one of his schemes. "That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves, we'll be thrown out for sure."

Harry plopped down in his seat. He looked utterly defeated. "But we've got no proof. Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor. Who do you think they'll believe, him or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate him. Dumbledore will think we made it up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help if his life depended on it. He's too friendly with Snape and the more students get thrown out, the better he'll think. And don't forget; we're not supposed to know about the stone, or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining. "

He turned and looked at Hermione and she knew he was serious. He didn't want to get involved. He didn't want any part of the Sorcerer's Stone. He just wanted to get out of this mess. She nodded at him as if to tell him that she understood.

Ron however didn't seem to understand, "If we just did a bit of poking around…"

"No! We've done enough poking around," he said pulling an astronomy chart towards him.

"But Harry, we can't let Snape get the stone," Ron pressed.

"Yes we can Ron," Hermione reasoned. "What do you think will happen when he does? Dumbledore will know about it. Even if Snape tries to run, the Ministry of Magic will be after him. He won't even be able to enjoy the stone when he steals it. We should just let them handle it when it happens and stop trying to do it ourselves."

"Yeah but if we stop Snape, then maybe we can earn back the points that were lost for Gryffindor. We'd win the house cup and we'd be heroes to boot," Ron said with a gleam in his eyes.

Hermione had had enough. "I don't believe you Ron Weasley! Is that all you can think of; just a little more fame and glory. Never mind that Harry and I have been completely ostracized by the entire school. Never mind that McGonagall will be watching our every step and wouldn't hesitate to expel us if we so much as put one toe out of line. Oh no, you don't care at all. So long as you're not in the line of fire, you just keep pushing and pushing. You're so selfish! " She grabbed her bag and stormed out of the library.

"Now you've done it," Harry said not troubling to look up from the chart he was reading.

"Why's she wound so tight?" Ron asked.

"She's got a lot on her mind. Maybe if you did more than argue with her, you'd see that."

Ron shook his head. "I can't help but fight with her, she asks for it."

"Funny, I manage just fine," Harry said, moving on to another chart.

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again.

Hermione, keeping true to her promise not to go sneaking around out of bounds, didn't go to the ramparts after she stormed out of the library, though she really wanted to.

She needed to just get away from things but that wasn't really an option. So instead, she found a corner of the common room and piled as many books as she could in front of her so that no one would see her or bother her. It worked for a while but then a freckled faced, red-headed boy poked his head over the stack of books.

It was Ron. "Oy, is there a Hermione Granger in there somewhere," he called.

Hermione gave him an annoyed look. "What do you want?"

Ron held up his hands as if he were surrendering. "I just wanted to talk that's all."

"About what?"

"Uh, I don't know," Ron admitted. "You seem to be a little stressed lately. Just thought I'd see if you were okay."

"You know me," Hermione scoffed. "I'm just all caught up in school work. It's all I can think about: school, school, school!" She wasn't going to make this easy on Ron.

Ron sat down and pushed the books to one side so he could see her. "Okay, I guess I deserved that bit of sarcasm."

Hermione returned to her reading. "Yes you did."

"Well, I just came over to say sorry for giving you such a hard way to go. I know you've got a lot more on your mind and that you don't want to get in any more trouble. I guess I was being just a little selfish."

"Yes you were," Hermione agreed readily.

Ron huffed. "And I'm apologizing."

" Really?" Hermione finally put the book down and smiled at him. "Apology accepted."

"Good, 'cause for a moment there I thought I might have to put it in writing."

"Next time you might just have to," Hermione assured him as she returned to her reading. Ron stared at her as she read and she felt herself blushing. " Why won't he look away?" She thought desprately. " I probably look a mess right now. Oh, I hope he doesn't notice."  
" So you're not going to tell me what's wrong are you?" He sighed and she looked up.  
" What do you mean?"  
" I mean, I know you're really upset. You're Hermione Granger, you never get in trouble and you never imagined you would lose so many points from Gryffindor, but there's something else." Hermione gulped. Should she tell him? So far she hadn't said anything to him about her fears. Ron wasn't exactly what you'd call a sensitive guy. Not that Harry was either, but Harry wasn't constantly teasing her for being a overachiever.  
She liked Ron a lot and felt like she could tell him anything when he wasn't making her feel terrible. Right now was one of those times. He was looking at her with deep concern in his eyes. He deserved to know what was up, she decided.  
" Ron, I have to tell you something,"

" Finally!" He scooted closer to her, looking her straight in the eyes. She blushed at the closeness and shifted a little to keep her heart from racing.  
" Okay, so my parents... they don't think Hogwarts is a good school for me,"  
" What? Hogwarts is an amazing school! It's the best school of Wizardry in the world!" Hermione felt the tears coming before she could stop them. " Yes I know," She sobbed. " But my parents are muggles."  
" Then how come they let you come here in the first place?" Ron was shaking in anger. Hermione spoke through her tears." T-They thought it would be good for me at first, and then I became friends with you and Harry and my dad wanted me to spend more time on work and- oh, Ron! I got in trouble and lost points from our house and Professor McGonagall wrote them that note and now they won't let me come back next year!"  
" They can't do that!" Ron exclaimed.  
" Yes they can. They're my parents. They want what's best for me and they don't think it's Hogwarts."

" But you're the smartest student in the school!" He said seriously. Hermione blushed, wiping her tears. " You're exaggerating." But Ron wasn't exaggerating in the slightest. He looked as if he meant what he said.  
" They can't make you leave. You're smart. Think of a way for them to let you stay."  
" Well I thought of getting high marks in the exams. Maybe after they see how well I did they'd know I have been trying to hard and I only made a mistake."  
Ron nodded fervently. " I'll help." Hermione stared at him for a few seconds before pouncing on him in a tight hug. " Thank you, Ron." She sobbed. His body went rigid and she realized that she was probably really embarrassing him. She moved away. " Sorry, I'm acting a silly girl again aren't I?"  
Ron smiled. " That's okay. I just won't be able to stand to see you go. Hogwarts wouldn't be the same without you to fight with and annoy me."  
" Gee thanks." Hermione was grinning now. " You know what? I take back what I said about you being selfish."  
" And I take back what I said about you being a unbearable bother to my sanity."  
Hermione looked puzzled. " You've never called me an unbearable bother to your sanity."  
" Yeah," He smirked. " But I was thinking it."  
Hermione grabbed the largest book off the the top of the pile and smacked him across the arm with it.  
" Ronald Weasley, what would I do without you?"  
" Die of humor deficiency."

The next morning at breakfast, Hermione received a note telling her that she was to serve detention that evening starting at 11. They were to meet Filch in the entrance hall, but it didn't say what they would be doing. Hermione found it vaguely ironic that they would be serving detention at almost the same time they snuck out of Gryffindor the night they were caught. Perhaps this was some sort of poetic justice. Harry had gotten the same note and she could see that Neville had gotten a note as well. So it looked like they would all be serving detention together.

"Well at least I won't have to be with Filch alone," she thought to herself. Although she didn't know how Neville would feel about it.

Neville hadn't spoken to her or Harry since the incident. He had been just as cold to them as the rest of the students even though he was being shunned by the school as well. Hermione wondered if he'd finally come around during their detention.

It didn't seem that she would have long to wait. The day flew by and before she knew it, it was almost 11. She didn't even realize the time until she felt a hand on her shoulder while she was sitting in the common room.

"Come on," Harry said quietly with a sigh. "It's time."

Hermione stood automatically. She felt like she was on autopilot.

Neville descended the stairs from the dormitories. "Well, let's get this over with."

Hermione could tell by the tone in his voice that he was more scared than angry now. He didn't know what Filch had in store for them but it was bound to be horrid.

"I'll wait up for you," Ron offered as the trio started towards the portrait exit.

Hermione, Neville, and Harry made their way slowly to the entrance hall. Filch was there, along with Malfoy.

"Great, we have to serve detention with him," Hermione thought to herself. She remembered how excited she was when she found out Malfoy had gotten detention, now she was almost wishing he had gotten off. The evening would be all the worse if they had to serve their punishment with him.

Filch led them out of the castle and started ranting about how if he had his way, they'd be hanging from their wrists instead of serving detention. Hermione ignored him. Filch didn't really scare her and neither did whatever detention he had in store for them. She knew that whatever it was she would be coming back from it alive. Dumbledore would never allow Filch to go too far. No, what occupied her mind was what would happen after the detention. Exams were close and then she would be back on the train; headed home to face her parents.

Hermione finally noticed that they were walking directly towards the lighted windows of Hagrid's Hut. Hagrid himself was waiting outside. Hermione smiled.

"Well this is a clever twist of fate. We get detention for protecting Hagrid and it's Hagrid who we're serving detention with."

"It's into the forest you're going," Filch was saying now. "And I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

Hermione had to contain a giggle as she watched Malfoy stutter with rage at the prospect of going into the forest. Of course it was forbidden for a reason; there were all sorts of creatures lurking inside. She had read all about the forest in "Hogwarts: A History" and she knew that though the forest was extremely dangerous there were very few instances of anyone being killed inside it. Of course she was nervous too, but they had Hagrid and his large boarhound Fang with them. She was fairly sure that they would be fine no matter what they had to do.

She waited patiently and quietly as Malfoy argued with Hagrid now about going into the forest. He was fighting a losing battle. Apparently he expected his detention to be with Snape, just like the last one he got when McGonagall caught him out of bed after Ron's night birthday party. Hermione had heard from the Patil twins that Malfoy was bragging about having an easy detention. He'd spent an hour copying lines in Snape's dungeon classroom and that was it.

"Serves him right," Hermione thought to herself as they headed towards the forest. She would gladly spend a few hours with Malfoy in the forbidden forest if it meant he was getting the kind of punishment he rightfully deserved. After all, this whole fiasco was partially his fault. "If he'd have just minded his own business, the little snot, we wouldn't be in this mess now."

Hagrid was explaining their task and Hermione gasped as she looked at the path leading into the forest, not because of the forest itself but the silver liquid that Hagrid was showing them and what it represented. A unicorn, one of the most beautiful creatures in the magical world, was dying in the forest. Hermione was amazed to learn that some creature in the forest had hurt it and had apparently killed another one several days before. She didn't think there was anything in the forest that could hurt a unicorn; they were far too fast and magical. Not even the three-headed beast, fluffy, could catch one. She shuddered, this time it was because she was afraid of what awaited them.

Malfoy voiced the same fears. "And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first."

"There's nothing that lives in the forest that'll hurt you if you're with me or Fang," Hagrid said matter-of-factly. He sounded very sure about this and Hagrid was big enough to protect himself but Hermione seriously doubted that he knew everything about the forbidden forest. Still she figured as long as they kept to the path, as Hagrid advised, they'd be relatively safe, at least that's what she kept telling herself.

Hagrid divided them into two groups. Neville and Malfoy would go with Fang the boarhound down one path and she and Harry were with Hagrid and his large crossbow down another. The four students practiced sending up different color sparks from their wands; green to indicate they'd found the unicorn and red if they were in any danger.

Hermione noticed that Hagrid didn't have a wand. From what she had heard about the game keeper, he wasn't allowed to do magic because he was expelled from Hogwarts when he was young. He never said why, though Hermione thought she could guess. Hagrid was likely to be the kind of student who would raise monsters in his dormitory.

The two groups finally started into the forest. Hermione's curiosity soon overcame her fears. She'd probably never have another opportunity to see the inside of the forbidden forest so she took everything in. The trees seemed to have an aura of their own and she knew that even if it were high noon, it would probably still be almost pitch black underneath these trees. Moonlight did filter in every now and again, but they were basically walking in darkness. Hermione considered lighting her wand, but she didn't want to draw any undo attention.

"Are you alright, Hermione," Hagrid asked after a while. She realized she'd been unusually quiet the whole time. Hermione was about to answer when suddenly Hagrid ceased her and Harry. "Get behind that tree," he said as he placed the bodily behind one of the dark oak trees on the side of the path.

Hermione didn't know what to think as she watched him raise his crossbow, aiming it at the black nothingness ahead. There was a rustling sound, and Hermione involuntarily shivered. Something was out there. The noise drifted further away and Harry and Hermione came from behind the tree.

"I knew it. There's summat in here that shouldn't be," Hagrid said as he lowered the crossbow.

Hermione gulped, and she began to wonder if perhaps this detention was a little too severe for their crime. Would they really make it out alive? Why had Dumbledore allowed something like this? He should be concerned for the student's safety.

They continued down the path even more slowly and in complete silence this time. Then suddenly there was another rustling. Hermione had the almost uncontrollable urge to run as Hagrid quickly raised his crossbow again and started shouting into the darkness. This time though, something appeared in the clearing ahead of them. Hermione recognized it immediately as a centaur. It was half man, half horse. She never knew that centaurs lived in the forest but they were supposed to be relatively friendly creatures and this was confirmed when Hagrid lowered his weapon, a look of relief on his face.

"Oh, it's you Ronan. How are you?" Hagrid obviously knew him.

Hermione and Harry waited quietly to be introduced as the two friends greeted each other. "This is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger by the way, students up at the school." Hagrid said finally. "And this is Ronan, you two; he's a centaur."

"We'd noticed," Hermione muttered. She'd overcome most of her initial shock and was now staring in awe at the majestic creature in front of her.

Ronan stared at her with large blue eyes that seemed to see her very soul. "Good evening; students are you? And do you learn much up at the school?"

Hermione was caught in his gaze, almost transfixed. "A bit," she managed to answer.

She wondered why he had chosen to focus his attention on her instead of Harry. After all, he was the famous Harry Potter. She expected him to take some notice of the scar on his head and be amazed that he was meeting the 'boy who lived.' But Ronan was staring at her so hard she felt like the creature could read her very thoughts.

Finally he looked away from her and up at the night sky. Hermione sighed again. She finally realized she was sweating and wiped her brow.

Hagrid tried to glean information from the centaur about the injured unicorn but it was a futile effort. Hermione could tell that he was definitely preoccupied with something because all he would ever say was "Mars is bright tonight." It seemed like he was trying to tell them something without actually telling them. Centaurs were extraordinarily wise creatures but kept their knowledge to themselves. She knew they could tell the future from the stars, but didn't know enough about astronomy or divination to discern what the brightness of Mars impacted. She silently wished she had one of her books with her.

Hagrid finally became impatient with Ronan and Hermione could tell that he was about to take his leave when a second centaur appeared.

"Hello Bane; alright?" Hagrid greeted him.

"Good-evening Hagrid," said Bane. He didn't seem to notice Hermione or Harry.

Harry elbowed Hermione in the side. "Are you listening to me?"

"Huh?" Hermione looked at him. She hadn't even noticed he was talking.

"I was asking if you knew much about centaurs. Terribly odd creatures, aren't they?"

"I dunno,' Hermione admitted with a shrug. "I think they may be trying to tell us something."

Hagrid hadn't gotten any new information from Bane so he dragged the two students off down the forest trail. "Never try and get a straight answer out of a centaur; ruddy star gazers." he growled. "Not interested in anything closer than the moon."

"Are there many of them in here?" Hermione asked him.

Hagrid nodded but kept his eyes on the path in front of them "Oh a fair few. Keep 'emselves to themselves mostly but their good enough about turning up whenever I want a word."

Hermione thought about this as Hagrid continued on. "Centaurs don't 'turn up' for anyone. They're known for being reclusive." She looked at the half-giant. What was it about Hagrid that he had that much respect from these creatures? She thought about what he had said earlier. Nothing in the forest would hurt them as long as they were with him or Fang. She was beginning to believe this now. Perhaps Hagrid really did hold some secret to the forest. She wouldn't be surprised if he even had influence over the werewolves that were reported to be lurking around.

Just as she began to reassure herself that they were safe, a distant noise caught her attention. She looked up in the night sky and saw red flashes some distance away. "Hagrid look; red sparks! The others are in trouble!"

Hagrid was quick to action. "You two wait here. Stay on the path," he warned again. "I'll come back for yer." He started through the woods towards the sparks.

Hermione felt another chill as a cool breeze whipped through her hair. She tried to occupy her mind as she and Harry stood in the darkness waiting for Hagrid to return, but for the first time that night, she couldn't find anything to think about.

She looked at Harry. He was staring at her, a worried look in his eyes, which, even in the darkness Hermione could see the illuminating green. She could tell what he was thinking and finally voiced the concern they both had on their minds. "You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" she started timidly.

"I don't care if Malfoy has," Harry said spitefully. "but if something's got Neville… it's our fault he's here in the first place."

Hermione nodded. "Poor Neville. He tries so hard and yet he always gets into trouble."

"Maybe…we should go see what's going on," Harry said after a few more minutes of waiting.

"No, Hagrid said to stay on the path. Are you crazy? We could get killed out here by ourselves."

Harry shifted from one foot to the other. "It's just taking so long."

"This was such a bad idea," Hermione muttered under her breath.

Finally Hagrid returned and they were relieved to see that Fang, Neville, and even Malfoy were with him. Hagrid however looked furious and Hermione soon found out why. Neville and Malfoy hadn't been in any real danger. Malfoy had gotten bored and decided to sneak up on Neville from behind and Neville, in a rare display of wizarding aptitude, had instantly sent up red sparks. Hagrid switched the search parties. Harry would take Neville's place.

Harry gave an audible sigh as he, Malfoy, and Fang started into the heart of the forest. Hermione Neville and Hagrid went in the opposite direction. She glanced back at her retreating friend and saw that Harry had done the same. Their eyes locked for an instant and then they both turned away.

"Are you alright," Hermione asked Neville finally.

Neville shrugged. He looked more angry than scared now. "I'm fine. I just hate it that that stupid git always gets the better of me."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "This is all our fault. We never meant for any of this to happen and we certainly didn't want to get you into trouble. Harry would never do that you know."

"Yeah I guess." Neville shrugged. "But he still shouldn't have gotten all of us and Gryffindor into so much trouble. I mean; I hate Malfoy too, but that practical joke went too far."

"Neville," Hermione sighed. "It wasn't a joke. We really were sneaking a dragon up to the astronomy tower." She figured it was safe to tell him now since the only other person around was Hagrid, who knew only too well what the truth was.

"That's not funny," Neville said grumpily.

"I know it's not funny, that's because it's the truth." Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Ask Hagrid."

Neville looked up at the gamekeeper who was trying his best to avoid the glare. "Er… she's right. It was… um… my dragon that got you all into trouble. I'm sorry."

"What!" Neville almost shouted. "You mean, all this time you three were hiding a dragon. You're insane. You know their illegal don't you?"

"Yes of course we do; that's why we were getting rid of it," Hermione said irritably. "And it would have gone smoothly if Malfoy hadn't been trying to get us back for the night party and for Ron hitting him at the quidditch game."

"That little rivalry is going to get ya'll into a world of trouble," Hagrid said.

"Excuse me!" Hermione snapped. "But if it weren't for your obsession with dragons, none of this would have even happened."

"Uh, yeah… sorry 'bout that," Hagrid said sheepishly.

Hermione finally asked the question that was weighing on her mind. "Why didn't you stick up for us when we got in trouble?"

"I… uh… I would have," Hagrid admitted. "But it's just that. If the Ministry of Magic found out, they might have thrown me in wizard's prison. Dumbledore wouldn't have been able to help me. I'm sorry," he said again.

No matter how angry she was with Hagrid, she didn't want to see him go to prison. So she let it drop. No wonder Harry had stood by him all this time. She knew he didn't want that for Hagrid either. They continued through the forest in silence.

"Ronan, yer back," Hagrid called.

Hermione looked up and saw that the centaur was once again in the path in front of them. He had the same sorrowful look on his face as before. He was staring directly at Hermione again.

"Anything wrong? Did you see summat?" Hagrid asked when Ronan didn't acknowledge him.

Ronan continued to ignore him but he walked closer to the trio, eyes still fixed on the young witch. "You're more special than you think."

"Huh?" Hermione said. She couldn't look away from his eyes. They looked so sad and yet she knew the centaur was trying to communicate something to her, something he couldn't tell her in words.

"It will happen soon and he will need you by his side when it does," Ronan whispered to her. He looked up at the night sky again. "Yes… Mars is bright tonight."

"What will happen?" Hermione asked breathlessly. She didn't need to ask who the 'he' was that Ronan had referred too. There was only one person the centaur could be talking about.

There was a distant noise which seemed to bring Ronan back to Earth. "Trouble brews in the forest. It is no longer safe for the likes of you. I must go now." And with that he took off into the dense forest without another word.

"What in the world's goin' on?" Hagrid growled.

"What was that noise?" Neville was clutching Hermione's robes now.

"I don't know but I have a bad feeling that Harry's in trouble," Hermione said gravely. "Maybe we should go find them. It's been almost a half hour and we still haven't seen the unicorn."

They heard a sudden crashing through the forest. Hagrid raised his crossbow again but lowered it when he saw that it was only Malfoy.

"What're you doing here?" Hagrid asked angrily. "Where's Harry?"

"That… that thing probably got him!" Malfoy said with a frightened squeal. He wasn't even troubling to hide his fear this time. "We found the unicorn. It's dead and then this thing just came outta the woods. It attacked us. It almost killed me!"

"And you just left Harry to fend for himself," Hermione shouted at the boy.

"It's not my fault he didn't run. I'm not Potty's little keeper," Malfoy snarled at her.

"If anything happens to him…" Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at his chest. "I'll turn you into the weasel that you are. And don't think I can't do it," she warned him. She really couldn't but she knew he'd believe the threat. "I don't care how much trouble I'll get into."

Malfoy gulped but stood his ground. "Better a live weasel than a dead duck like your boyfriend Potter."

"Stop it, both of ya," Hagrid ordered. "Where's Harry?"

Malfoy pointed wildly into the woods, "That way!"

Fang suddenly appeared from amidst the trees now, making everyone jump a little. The dog was whimpering.

"Ah, there you are," Hagrid said relieved. He turned back to the three students. "Okay you lot get back to the castle. Fang here will lead the way. I'm going to go find Harry."

"I'm coming with you," Hermione said with more determination than she thought she had in her.

"I don't want anyone else gettin' hurt," Hagrid said.

Hermione stood fast. "I want to make sure Harry's okay. I'm coming with you."

"Oh alright then, come on," Hagrid sighed as he ushered Hermione into the forest with him.

"Better you than me!" Malfoy called after them. "I'm not risking my neck for perfect goody-goody Potter."

"Oh shut it, Malfoy." Hermione heard Neville say as the two boys and the boarhound started back down the path.

Hermione started running through the forest with Hagrid close behind her. She didn't know where she was going or if it was even the right direction. All she knew was that she wanted, no needed, to find Harry. Hagrid silently followed, never correcting her heading, so she figured he was as clueless as she was about where they were going.

"There's a lot of blood up here," Hermione said. "That probably means we're near where they found the unicorn.

They heard voices in the distance. "That sounds like Firenze," Hagrid said.

"And Harry!" Hermione added with glee. She took off towards the sound and finally hit another path. Several yards away she could clearly see another centaur with Harry on its back.

She ran towards them. "Harry! Harry are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Harry said and she was relieved to see that whatever creature Malfoy had told them about didn't seem to have attacked Harry in any way. Still there was a definite look in his eyes that told her all too clearly something had happened.

Hagrid had finally caught up.

"The unicorn's dead Hagrid. It's in the clearing back there," Harry said finally. Whatever had happened, he didn't seem to want to talk about it.

The centaur said something to Harry that Hermione couldn't hear and then let him slide off his back.

"Good luck, Harry Potter," the centaur said before leaving. "The planets have been read wrongly before, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."  
"What was that all about," Hermione asked him.

"It's a long story." Harry whispered. "I'll tell you when we get back up to the common room.

Hermione didn't think she could wait that long but soon Hagrid returned from where the dead unicorn was and told them that they could finally leave the forest and return to their dormitories.

"If this is detention, I'm never going to have another one as long as I live," Harry said as they started back.

"Maybe that was the whole point," Hermione mused.

_A/N: Hope you enjoyed! For some reason even though it's one of my least favorite chapters in the book I ejoyed writing it. Reviews make me happy and they make me write faster!_


	16. The Last Resort

_Chapter Summary: We're nearing the end. Hermione decides to take matters into her own hands but is it already too late?_

"Harry, would you please tell me what's wrong?" Hermione pressed. "You've barely said a word." They were nearing the Gryffindor Tower entrance.

"I will, as soon we find Ron," Harry told her. The fat lady was dozing in the portrait entrance. "Stupid Night Gits." He hated the new Gryffindor password. The portrait swung open and they climbed in.

Ron was still in the common room but he was fast asleep. Harry wasted no time in waking him as Hermione took another seat by the dying fire.

Ron yawned openly. "Oy, how was detention?"

"It was fine until I almost got killed by Voldemort," Harry said as he started pacing.

Ron sat up quickly, eyes wide. "Harry, that's not funny, and don't say the name."

Hermione gasped. "You mean that thing… in the forest… that was…that was 'you know who'?"

Harry nodded. "He's the one killing the unicorns. He's drinking their blood."

"Ewwwww," Ron shuddered.

"Because it's keeping him alive," Harry continued. "Don't you see? Snape wants the stone for Voldemort and Voldemort's waiting in the forest. And all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich."

"Stop saying the name." Ron seemed to go spastic every time Harry would mention the Dark Lord by name.

Hermione hadn't grown up in the wizarding world so the fear of Voldemort's name had no real impact on her, but she had read that most wizards never mentioned him by name and so she knew to always say "you know who." What bothered her was that now there was a new more important piece to the puzzle. It wasn't just Snape they had to worry about; it was the Dark Lord himself. If he got his hands on the stone then he could return to full power. This was bigger than anything they could have ever imagined.

"All this time, I've been worried about stupid exams and studying when Voldemort's only a stone throw's away plotting to ravage the world again." She thought, feeling like a jerk for being so unfocused on Harry the past few weeks.  
Harry was ranting now about how the centaurs were predicting Voldemort's return by the movement of the stars and Hermione remembered what Ronan had said to her earlier that night. "It will happen soon and he will need you by his side when it does." Is this what he meant?

Harry stopped pacing and looked directly at Hermione, "So, all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the stone. Then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off. Well I suppose Bane'll be happy."

Hermione stared up at him and she saw the look of desperation in his eyes. "Harry," she started slowly. "Everyone says Dumbledore's the only one," she glanced at Ron, "'you know who' was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, 'you know who' won't touch you. Anyway who says the centaurs are right. It sounds like fortune telling to me and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."

Harry finally plopped down in a nearby armchair. "I don't know, Hermione. We thought Snape wouldn't try anything with Dumbledore so close but we were wrong about that too. Voldemort's desperate. He has a chance to get back to full strength and kill me once and for all. I don't think he's going to let Dumbledore stop him."

"Why do you suppose he wants to kill you?" Ron asked, not troubling to tell Harry off again for speaking Voldemort's name.

"I don't know!" Harry said in frustration. "Maybe he's mad that he couldn't kill me the first time."

"Maybe he's afraid of you," Hermione offered. "Maybe there's something about you that he's afraid of. After all, you survived his killing curse. No one has ever done that before."

"What could possibly be special about me?" Harry sighed. "I'm just an average first-year wizard like you guys and everyone else in this school. I don't have any extraordinary powers; I'm normal."

"No you're not," Ron objected. "You're Harry Potter."

"Oh Ron," Hermione chastised. "He may be famous to you, but Harry's right. By all rights he shouldn't have survived that curse. There's still no logical reason why he did."

"But maybe," Ron started excitedly. "Maybe Harry has some sort of hidden power that we don't know about; something that can stop 'you know who' and he found out about it or something and that's why he keeps trying to kill Harry because he knows he can stop him."

"Well I wish I knew what it was so I could," Harry said in a defeated sort of voice.

"I really think we should go to Dumbledore now," Hermione pressed. "This is serious. If 'you know who' is really out there, then Dumbledore should know about it, before it's too late."

"Right and of course he'll believe us because we're the first year students who 'pretended' that we had a dragon just get Malfoy in trouble."

"We should at least try," Hermione insisted.

"Go ahead." Harry said standing up again. "I don't care anymore. I'm going to go to bed and wait for the inevitable." He stomped off upstairs.

"This thing's really gotten to him," Ron said to Hermione when Harry was out of earshot.

"Well you'd be upset too if you thought you were going to die," Hermione chastised not believing that Ron could be that dense.

"Well, maybe it wasn't really 'you know who,'" Ron offered. "Maybe it was a werewolf or something. Harry could just be overreacting."

"Ron you weren't out there tonight. Trust me, whatever was killing those unicorns, it wasn't a werewolf."

"Well you didn't see it did you?" Ron challenged.

"No I didn't see it myself," Hermione admitted.

"Well then there you have it. It could have been anything. The centaurs were probably just trying to scare Harry. You know, keep humans out of the forest. It's probably nothing."

Hermione was about to say she didn't think so, but Ron stood to leave. "I'm with Harry. We can't go to Dumbledore, not until we're sure. Else wise, we'll just be letting Snape know we're on to him and then we'll never catch him."

Hermione folded her arms, "Fine," she said irritably. She watched as Ron left the common room and headed up the stairs to his dormitory.

"Of course he agrees with Harry. That's all he knows how to do. I can't believe all this time I've been worried about a little thing like my father not letting me come back to Hogwarts next year when the whole world could be in danger. I can't believe this is really happening and there's nothing I can do about it."

After a few minutes of letting these thoughts float through her head, Hermione finally resigned herself to bed, but even after she had preformed the silencing spell that blocked out Lavender's thunderous snores, she still couldn't sleep. She kept having visions of a dark silhouetted man attacking Harry. She tossed and turned until exhaustion overtook her.

-

Hermione decided that she was going to talk to Dumbledore herself. She was tired of waiting for Harry to decide the time was right because she was afraid that by the time he did, it would be too late. Ever since the incident in the forest it seemed that Harry had completely given up his will to fight and Hermione suspected that he was having nightmares again, even though he wouldn't talk about them. She was also fed up with Ron's blind allegiance. Even if it meant them being cross with her, she was going to do what she knew was right. She just had to find the right time to talk to the headmaster alone. Such an opportunity came the following Friday afternoon, the last Friday before exams.

Hermione, Ron, and Harry were in the library studying, when suddenly Harry slammed his book shut, signaling that he had had enough. "I'm going to go see Hagrid. I just need to get out."

Ron closed his books as well, "Alright, sounds good. I need an excuse to get away from all this anyway. Hermione?"

"No, I think I'll stay here and study a bit more. Exams are next week, you know?"

"How could we forget," Ron sighed. "Suite yourself."

Hermione watched them leave the library. She waited a few minutes to be sure they were long gone and then she stood as well. She had no intentions of staying in the library. This was her opportunity to go see Dumbledore.

Hermione shouldered her bag and left the library quickly. Her first stop was the staff room. Perhaps the headmaster would be there. She bounded down one set of stairs after another until she hit the ground floor. Then she made her way to the staff room and knocked politely on the door. There was no answer. She pushed the door open as quietly as possible. Sure enough the staff room was deserted.

Hermione decided to try McGonagall's study next. Perhaps the headmaster and deputy headmistress were in some sort of meeting. When she got there she once again knocked politely on the door and once again there was no answer. "Where is everyone?" she wondered as she pushed open the door to make sure the room was indeed empty.

"Looking for Professor McGonagall, Ms. Granger?" came a voice from behind her that made her jump. Hermione spun on her heels and found herself face to face with none other than Professor Dumbledore.

For a split second she was afraid Dumbledore would think she was snooping around again, but the gentle twinkle in his eyes told her that he wasn't upset at all.

"I also am looking for her," Dumbledore continued. "Perhaps we can wait together."

"Uh, well uh, actually Professor, I was looking for you," Hermione stammered.

"Really," Dumbledore said with a slight chuckle as if he found it amusing that Hermione was looking for him in another professor's office. The truth was, Hermione couldn't remember where the headmaster's office was, and she didn't feel like looking it up in "Hogwarts: A History," if it was indeed even in the book.

"Well I suppose since Professor McGonagall is nowhere to be found, she wouldn't mind us using her office for whatever it is you wanted to discuss." He pushed open the door and ushered her in. They both took seats.

"So what can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked politely.

Hermione thought about the best way to start but as soon as she opened her mouth the words just came tumbling out. "Professor Harry's in trouble. Something tried to kill him in the forbidden forest the other night while we were serving detention."

"Well the forest is forbidden for a reason," Dumbledore said lightly. "However I knew that you would be safe with Hagrid to protect you. He knows every creature in that forest."

"But this wasn't something that was normally in the forest," Hermione insisted. "Even Hagrid said so and the centaurs, they said that it was- oh, Professor, they said it was you-know-who!'"  
"So you believe that Voldemort is lurking in the forest and that he's trying to attack Harry." He didn't look as if he believed her, or like he didn't believe her either. In fact, his expression hadn't changed a bit.

"Yes, I know it's far fetched but…" Hermione wondered how much detail she should go into. Should she reveal that she knew about the Sorcerer's Stone?

"My dear, there's nothing far fetched about it. If Voldemort were to be anywhere, it would be here. There have been many signs to prove that and there are other reasons that he would come to Hogwarts." Hermione nodded, pretending to be puzzled but Dumbledore must have seen through this because he added; "as I'm sure you're well aware of."

"So you believe me?" she asked finally.  
Dumbledore smiled. "I believe that there are many things at work here, Ms. Granger, but rest assured, I will do everything in my power to help Harry, just as I have always done." He stood. "I know you will do the same."

Hermione didn't know what to say. She had expected Dumbledore to leap up and go charging into the forest to investigate but he acted as if Hermione had simply told him that there was poison ivy growing there. She began to wonder if he really did believe her of if the headmaster was just patronizing a gullible first year student but something about the seriousness in his expression told her that this wasn't the case. She had the feeling Dumbledore knew far more about the situation than they did but he, like Harry, was waiting for when the time was right.

She finally stood too. "I will, sir."

-

Hermione didn't tell Harry or Ron that she had been to see Dumbledore. She knew they'd just be upset with her for going behind their backs. Still she felt better knowing that Dumbledore did know what was going on. The headmaster would put a stop to anything that would endanger one of his students and if he already knew there was a chance Voldemort might be lurking about, then that meant that he would be doubly protective. He wouldn't let Harry take any risks that could get him killed.

All in all, she felt better about the whole situation so when Monday's exams rolled around, she was able to put her full concentration into her work for the first time in several days.

The four days of exams seemed to fly by to Hermione. All of her tests were much easier than she anticipated and she was sure that she would score top marks. However as the end of term speed closer and closer, the dread of what awaited her when she returned home began to grow.

She still hadn't told Harry about the most recent letter from her mother. In all the excitement she had almost forgotten herself. She felt she at least owed it to her best friend to let him know that there was a possibility she'd never see him again, but the very thought of talking to him about it made her stomach churn. So she kept putting it off. She figured she would wait until the right time to tell him. Harry looked so strained all the time lately that she didn't want to worry him with her troubles.

Hermione also hoped that if she was top of her class her parents would be more reasonable and then she wouldn't need to tell Harry at all. She decided that as soon as the exam results were posted, she would send an owl to her parents to show them what she had accomplished. That way they would get them before she even got home and it might temper the wrath that she knew she was headed into.

Despite the fact that Snape didn't seem to show the slightest sign that he was trying anything, Harry still looked worried all the time. He complained that his scar hurt constantly. Hermione had tried repeatedly to get him to go to the hospital wing but he refused. She was right on the verge of looking for a cure for magical headaches when she stopped herself. This was exactly how she had gotten herself in trouble last time. So the night before their last exam, she resolved herself to talk to Harry about it.

"Ron, I thought you said that you almost always beat Seamus in chess," she said as she walked up to him and Harry in the common room. Harry eyed her suspiciously.

"I do," Ron confirmed. "Why?"

Hermione took a seat beside his. "Oh nothing, I just overheard Seamus saying something about being the house chess champion," she said casually.

Ron immediately jumped up, "Oh we'll see about that."

"So I'm guessing you want to talk to me about something." Harry had taken the hint.

"Just wondering how you're doing. That's all. I've been kind of worried about you. But I decided not to make a sleeping potion this time," she said lightly.

"Well good. I'm fine. Just have a lot on my mind. What about you?"

Hermione was taken aback. "What about me what?"

"Well I know you were worried about how your parents would react about you getting detention. You never told me what they said."

"Oh well, they weren't too happy with me," Hermione said vaguely. "But nothing I can't handle. I'm not going to let them pull me out of Hogwarts."

"So they're thinking about it then," Harry said, reading between the lines.

"It'll be okay. I'll handle it," Hermione said confidently. "You know, for some strange reason I actually believe that when I say it to you."

"I'm sorry I got you into this mess," Harry said sincerely. "If I hadn't been trying to protect Hagrid…"

"It's okay. I don't blame you. You didn't make me. I wanted to help too. That's what friends are supposed to do."

Ron appeared again. "That was fast," Harry said lightly.

"Seamus said he wasn't in the mood, lousy git. He just doesn't want me to stomp him in front of the whole house," Ron said with a grin. "So are you two ready for the History of Magic exam tomorrow?" he looked at Hermione first and then scoffed. "I mean, Harry are you ready? We all know Miss Know-It-All is ready."

Hermione pulled out her wand with a malicious grin. "Ron, you should be really careful about insulting the most knowledge witch in our year," she said pointing her wand at him for emphasis. "I can do things to you that you can't even imagine."

Ron shuddered. "You're scary; you know that don't you?"

-

The History of Magic exam, like all the others, didn't seem nearly as difficult as Hermione thought it would be. Of course, her companions didn't think so but she was used to them not agreeing with her on matters of academia. Since this was their last exam they celebrated by finding a large tree to relax under near the lake. Everyone else was outside as well.

Hermione felt like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Now that exams were over, she had a rare opportunity to do nothing but relax. Harry on the other hand seemed even more stressed. His scar was still hurting him. No matter how many times she or Ron tried to convince him that everything would be okay, he still seemed worried about Snape, Voldemort, and the Sorcerer's Stone. He told them that he felt like there was something he was forgetting.

"That's just the exams," Hermione said dismissively, trying to sooth him. "I woke up last night and was halfway through my transfiguration notes before I remembered we've done that one."

Harry gave her a look that said all too clearly he didn't think whatever was bothering him had anything to do with exams.

Hermione sighed and settled back against the tree. She didn't want to fret about anything anymore. If Dumbledore was acting calmly about the whole thing, then why should they worry? There was no way they could protect the stone any better than him. As long as he was still at the castle, Voldemort wouldn't dare try to enter and as long as Fluffy was guarding the stone, Snape would never get it. These were two barriers that couldn't be broken.

Hermione's eyes were beginning to droop as she started to drift off to sleep but then suddenly Harry jumped to his feet like he was on fire.

"I've just thought of something," Harry said as Hermione rubbed her eyes and straightened up. "We've got to go and see Hagrid, now." He bolted across the courtyard without further explanation.

Hermione jumped to her feet, yanking Ron up with her. "Why?" she asked as they ran to catch up with him.

Harry was running so fast that she could barely hear what he was saying but she caught enough to understand. He had made a connection that they'd all missed. It couldn't have been a big secret that Hagrid always wanted a dragon and then all of the sudden, someone turns up in Hogsmeade with an illegal dragon egg and just happens to bump into Hagrid. It had to have been planned, but why? She knew what Harry was thinking; was this a plot by Voldemort?

Hermione ran faster, clutching a stitch in her side, trying to keep up with Harry as he made a mad dash for Hagrid's hut. As it came into view, they saw Hagrid himself sitting outside, casually shelling peas. He offered them a drink which Harry quickly declined, much to Ron's chagrin.

"I've got to ask you something," Harry said quickly. "You know that night you won Norbert; what did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno, he wouldn't take his cloak off."

The three of them exchanged worried looks. She knew exactly what Harry was thinking.

"It's not that unusual, you get a lot o' funny folks up in the Hogs Head. That's the pub down in the village. Might have been a dragon dealer mighten he? I never saw his face; he kept his hood up."

Hermione gulped.

Harry dropped to the ground next to Hagrid and pressed further about his conversation with the pub stranger. It seemed that Hagrid had been extremely drunk that night because the cloaked man kept buying him drinks. This was all he needed to do to get the information he really wanted out of Hagrid. After that it didn't seem to take Hagrid long to mention the large three headed dog he had raised at Hogwarts.

Harry's voice was shaking as he asked his next question. "Did he seem interested in Fluffy?"

"Well yeah, how many three-headed dogs do you meet, even around Hogwarts?"

"I should hope not many," Hermione thought to herself.

"So I told him; Fluffy's a piece of cake if you know how to calm him down. Just play him a bit of music and he'll go straight off to sleep." Hagrid's eyes widened. "Uh, I shouldn't have told you that."

Hermione felt a hand grab her and jerk her away. It was Harry and he was dragging her and Ron back to the castle. It was clear by the time they reached the entrance hall that Harry had made up his mind about going to Dumbledore. Now that they knew that Hagrid had inadvertently given away the secret of getting past Fluffy, they had some proof. They couldn't necessarily say it was Snape, but at least Dumbledore would believe that the stone was in danger.

Hermione was about to tell Harry that she had already spoken to Dumbledore and that the headmaster would probably at least believe it was Voldemort who had tricked Hagrid but before she could, their discussion was interrupted by Professor McGonagall. She was carrying a large stack of books which seemed rather odd to Hermione considering the fact that McGonagall knew about a thousand different spells to keep from having to carry the books herself.

"What are you three doing inside," the deputy headmistress asked as if some rule had been declared that students were no longer allowed inside the castle.

Harry looked lost for words so Hermione decided to take over. "We want to see Professor Dumbledore." She knew there was no use telling her what was going on. She wouldn't believe them, but Dumbledore would.

"See Professor Dumbledore, why?"

Hermione didn't have an answer for this. "Why does it matter," she thought to herself. "It's none of your bloody business." She knew better than to say this aloud though.

"It's sort of… secret," Harry said weakly.

The deputy headmistress snorted. "Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off to London at once."

"Ten minutes! We missed the professor by ten minutes. This isn't possible." Hermione felt like she was in a terribly bad television drama. "It's Snape; he sent that letter. That means he's planning on stealing the stone tonight."

Harry was in shock as well and Hermione could tell McGonagall was getting tired of their conversation. She obviously thought that the three of them were up to some sort of childish prank. If Dumbledore was gone and Snape knew how to get past Fluffy then that meant there was absolutely nothing stopping Voldemort from coming back.

It seemed Harry was desperate now. He began to explain to Professor McGonagall that they knew about the Sorcerer's Stone and that they were sure someone would try to steal it that night.

McGonagall took this news much better than Hermione that she would. She was expecting the deputy headmistress to give them all another round of detention for trying to lie to her, but instead she just dropped the stack of books she was carrying in shock. "I don't know how you found out about the stone but rest assured no one can possibly steal it. It's too well protected," she said through pursed lips.

"But Professor…" Harry tried again.

But she had heard enough. McGonagall gathered up her fallen books and dismissed them. She strolled off down the hall.

"Well, that went well," Hermione muttered.

-

Harry had decided that the best way to protect the stone was to keep a constant eye on Snape and the third floor corridor entrance. Ron and Harry went off to guard the corridor entrance, leaving Hermione to try and tail Snape.

She was pacing outside the staff room. Snape had been in there for several minutes. She had no idea what she was going to do when he came out. Ron had suggested just telling him that she was looking for Professor Flitwick, but she thought that was stupid. Unfortunately she hadn't come up with any better ideas.

Snape had already warned them earlier that he knew what they were up to. He had overheard them talking after Professor McGonagall left. He hadn't actually said that he was aware that they knew about his plans to steal the stone but he did threaten to have them expelled if they snuck out after hours again. This meant that if they tried to stop him that night, all he would have to do is tell Dumbledore he caught them out of bed and they'd be kicked out.

"Miss Granger," a harsh voice interrupted her thoughts. It was Snape. She hadn't even noticed him come out. "Is there some reason why you'd rather be strolling outside the staff room than out in the courtyard with your miscreant friends?"

"I uh…" Hermione tried to think of a viable answer but in the end she used the excuse Ron gave her. "I was waiting for Professor Flitwick. I needed to talk to him about our exam."

Snape's lips curled into a sinister smile. "Well then, wait right here and I'll fetch him for you." He strolled off.

"Great," Hermione thought in panic. "I can't follow him because he'll know what's up and I can't let him come back here with Flitwick because then he'll know I was lying." The truth was Hermione had talked to Flitwick earlier that week and he had told her she'd gotten 112% on her exam. So there was absolutely no reason she'd need to talk to him.

Hermione bounced from one foot to the other for a few minutes and then decided not to risk it. She ran up the stairs and made a bee line for Gryffindor Tower.

"Oh well, at least Harry and Ron are still guarding the third floor entrance," she thought as she pushed her way into the Gryffindor common room.

Much to her chagrin, Harry and Ron were sitting there, a distraught look on her face. McGonagall had caught them waiting outside the forbidden corridor and had sent them away.

Hermione joined them near the fireplace and explained what happened with her assignment. They sat in silence for a few minutes, pondering.

"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said softly. "I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the stone first."

Hermione looked up at him. She could tell by the solemn look in his green eyes that he was completely serious.

"Oh Harry," she thought. "This won't end well."

-

Hermione sat alone in a corner of the common room, reading "The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1." Exams were over and she was still studying. But the stakes were higher this time. She'd be putting her knowledge to a real test to face whatever challenges awaited her, Harry, and Ron down the trap door in the forbidden corridor.

Of course she was going. When she knew that Harry had made up his mind, she knew she had to go. She didn't want to; she was scared out of her mind, not because of the prospect of being expelled if they were caught, but of facing Snape and possibly Voldemort. She was worried that all her knowledge would do her no good if she was too scared to remember anything she'd learned. Classes and exams were one thing, there was no pressure there. If on the off chance she got something wrong or was slow to answer, there were no real consequences, but this could be life and death and it wasn't just her life she had to worry about.

"Find anything new?"

Hermione almost jumped out of her skin. "Harry, you scared me half to death!"

Harry sat down across from her, "Not nervous are we?" How he could manage even a half grin at a time like this was beyond her.

"Uh, a bit," Hermione confessed.

"Hermione, I'm grateful you want to help, but you don't have to come if you don't want to. I know you're worried about what your parents might do if we really did get expelled."

"No," Hermione said stoically. "You were right about what you said earlier. It won't matter if we get expelled or not. Keeping the stone away from You Know Who is more important. I want to help."

"Well good, because I don't think we could pull it off without you," Harry admitted.  
"What are you two up to?" Ron said plopping down in a seat nearby, a strained look on his face.

"Nothing," Harry said. "Just imaging what life would be like if the fate of the entire world wasn't resting on our shoulders."

"Oh," Ron sighed, "is that all."

"In a couple of hours," Harry said quietly, "our lives are going to change forever."

Hermione resumed studying. Harry and Ron just sat with nervous looks on their faces. Time ticked by slowly.

-

The common room was completely deserted now except for Hermione and Ron who were waiting patiently in the dark for Harry to return with the invisibility cloak.

"Are you nervous," Ron asked Hermione. It sounded like he wanted to justify his own nervousness.

"Yes," Hermione answered immediately.

"Oh," Ron said.

"Well what did you expect?" Hermione asked him.

"I didn't think you got nervous."

"Uh Ron, remember the troll?" Hermione asked with a slight chuckle.

"Oh yeah, but you know so much. And that was before you were friends with me and Harry. You've got us to protect you if you spaz out again, and you've got brains. There's no reason for you to be."  
"Well I still am." She whispered back, feeling especially nervous standing in the darkness. "Just...just promise me that you'll be careful tonight. Don't do anything stupid. And don't go along with everything Harry says. He's not thinking very straight right now under the circumstances and if he proposes anything foolish I want you to decide for yourself if you should do it or not."  
"Oh please, I don't go along with everything Harry says." Ron sounded offended.  
Hermione gave him a skeptical look. "Yes you do. Harry doesn't make you do anything Ron, and he doesn't try to. Harry needs us to keep him safe and out of trouble. But not only that. He needs a real friend and you can't be a real friend to him until you get over the fact that he's famous so you can coach him and help him. Right now we're the ones who keep him sane. We make him feel like just a normal wizard even when he's not. Treat him like a friend, not a celebrity."  
Ron said nothing, but Hermione could tell be the slight wrinkle in his left eyebrow that what she said really did touch a nerve.  
Moments later, Harry descended the stairs, cloak in hand. They were about to put it on when a noise distracted them. It was Neville.

"What are you doing?" he asked sleepily as he came into view. He was holding his toad, Trevor.

Harry shoved the cloak behind his back. "Nothing, Neville, nothing,"

But Neville had already figured it out. He stared angrily at all of them. "You're going out again."

"No, no, no, no we're not." Hermione put on a sweet smile as she tried desperately to come up with a plausible excuse, but none came to mind. "Why don't you go to bed Neville?"

But Neville wouldn't budge. He started hissing at them about getting Gryffindor into trouble and in a rare show of bravery blocked the entrance to the portrait hole, threatening to fight them. Hermione momentarily put herself into his shoes and realized she would have probably done the same thing if she didn't know what was going on. She briefly recalled the night that Harry and Ron snuck out to duel with Malfoy and how she and Neville got caught in the middle of that outing.

Neville was already ostracized for being an inept wizard and now he was an outcast in his own house all because he was trying to help Harry. Neville felt completely betrayed by him and Hermione so there was no way he'd listen to them now.

Harry was growing impatient. "Do something," he hissed at her.

"Quick, what do I know?" Hermione thought as she pulled out her wand. She cycled through all the spells she could think of and picked out the one that she thought would hurt the least.

"Neville, I'm really really sorry about this. Petrificus Totalus!" Neville's entire body seemed to lock up in an instance and he fell to the floor face first. Hermione immediately ran forward to turn him over. Fortunately her full body bind curse had made his entire body solid as a rock so he hadn't broken anything when he fell over. Neville looked scared out of his mind but he couldn't say or do anything except move his eyes.

After they assured that he was okay, the trio gathered around the portrait and Harry threw the invisibility cloak over them.

"Well at least we know Hermione's prepared," Ron muttered as they stepped out of the portrait exit.

Hermione didn't answer but her stomach felt like it was tied in knots. Leaving one of her friends completely petrified on the common room floor didn't make her feel any better about what they were about to do. She only hoped she could keep her wits about her when they came against whatever challenges were beyond the trap door.


	17. The Strength That Lies Beyond

_Chapter Summary: It's down the trap door with Hermione and friends. How is she going to cope with the prospect of Harry dying at the hands of the dark lord?_

It had taken them a surprisingly short amount of time to make it to the forbidden third floor corridor. Their only obstacle was Peeves the Poltergeist but Harry had dealt with him in a clever manner by pretended that they were really the invisible ghost of the Bloody Barron, the only thing in the castle that Peeves really feared. Now they were about to come face to face with Fluffy.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you. You can take the cloak, I won't need it now." Harry said to Ron and Hermione as they stood, beneath the invisibility cloak facing the already ajar door to the forbidden corridor. It was obvious Snape had already beaten them there.

"Don't be stupid." Ron said determinedly.

"We're coming," Hermione agreed.

Harry nodded and pushed open the door. Hermione was half expecting the three-headed dog to attack the moment the door opened but when they stepped inside the dark corridor she saw that it was asleep. There was a harp near one of the dog's massive paws. This must have been what Snape used to play Fluffy to sleep. Obviously though the slumber was not permanent. The moment they stepped inside, Fluffy began to arouse. It suddenly occurred to Hermione that although they knew how to put Fluffy to sleep, they hadn't really talked about what they would bring to do so. She was about to panic when she saw Harry pull out a makeshift flute.

"Talk about prepared," she thought as Harry began to play. He wasn't particularly good, but Fluffy didn't seem to be picky. The dog immediately began to doze.

They slipped out of the invisibility cloak and moved towards the trap door as the dog drifted off to sleep.

Ron peered over Fluffy, "I think we'll be able to pull the door open. Want to go first, Hermione?" he offered in a pleading sort of voice.

"No, I don't," Hermione answered flatly.

"Alright." Ron began to creep over the feet of the sleeping beast and finally reached the trap door and pulled it up and open. He stuck his head down.

Hermione was trying to make her way over to him. "What do you see?"

"Nothing; just black. There's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."

Ron had a look on his face that said all too clearly that he was going to ask Hermione if she wanted to drop down first. She was debating slapping him for even thinking it but then Harry caught their attention. He wanted to go first.

For a split second Hermione thought, "Better him than me," but then she realized that Harry was facing a potentially lethal drop and silently chastised herself for not being as brave as he was.

Harry handed Hermione the flute so she could continue playing Fluffy to sleep. She suddenly realized how difficult playing it really was. She watched as Harry prepared himself to drop down the hole. More than anything she wanted to wish him luck or tell him something encouraging. None of them knew what would happen when he let go and for a fleeting moment she wondered if she'd ever see him again. But she couldn't express any of this with the flute in her mouth and she had to keep playing or Fluffy would wake up.

Hermione let out a shrill note when Harry dropped out of sight. Ron gave her a funny look but then resumed peering down the hole. They waited for what seemed like an eternity. Hermione was so nervous that her hands were sweating and she could barely hold or play the flute.

"He says it's okay," Ron said with a huge grin. He jumped down the hole without another word.

Hermione stepped over the last of Fluffy's paws. She pocketed the flute as she stepped up to the edge of the trap door. For a moment, she hesitated not knowing if she wanted to jump into the unknown abyss below, but the low growls of the three-headed dog awakening behind her made Hermione make up her mind very quickly. She jumped and seemed to float slowly down to the chamber bellow. Then suddenly her fall was broken by something soft and squishy. She landed right beside Harry.

"We must be miles under the school," she said as she looked up at the trap door. Suddenly, she felt something slimly around her ankle. "What in the…" She looked wildly around and realized they were on a plant, but not just any plant. This plant was silently creeping up their bodies, binding them. It had already worked its way up Harry and Ron's legs without their knowledge and now it was starting on her.

"Lucky this plant thing's here really," Ron was saying now.

Hermione jumped up, kicking at the plant. "Lucky! Look at you both!" She started running towards the wall. It was a struggle but she was able to break free.

Harry and Ron quickly realized that they were being bound and tried to run as well. Hermione finally got a good look at the plant and finally was able to figure out what it was.

"Stop moving," she ordered. "I know what this is; it's devil's snare."

"Oh I'm so glad we know what it's called. That's a great help," Ron said sarcastically.

Hermione scowled at him. "Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it."

It wasn't as if this was frustrating enough. She was trying hard to think of how to break them free of the plant but it was as if her mind had gone completely blank. It was like she was back in the girl's bathroom with the troll advancing on her. But this was different. She wasn't the one in trouble. It was her friends in trouble now. The devil's snare plant was just moments away from cutting off their oxygen. She had to do something but she couldn't. Her brain just couldn't work.

She realized this must be Sprout's obstacle to reaching the stone. She remembered what she told them about it in class one day. "It likes the dark and the damp."

"So light a fire!" Harry called to her.

"Yes of course…" Hermione looked around for something to make a fire with. Her mind was racing. She was running out of time. "But there's not wood."

"Have you gone mad? Are you a witch or not!" Ron said with his last bit of breath.

Hermione seemed to snap out of her stupor. She was a witch, not just any witch, but the best witch in her year. She pulled out her wand and performed the spell she'd used countless times since her very first day at Hogwarts. A stream of bluebell flames flew from her wand. The devil's snare loosened and finally Harry and Ron were able to escape.

"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione." Harry told her as he wiped sweat from his brow.

Hermione gave him an "I'm sorry I almost got you killed" look and Harry nodded in an "it's okay, you did your best," sort of way.

Ron wasn't as forgiving. "Yeah and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis. 'There's no wood' honestly," he added mockingly.

Hermione frowned and Harry quickly changed the subject, pointing out the route they should take now.

As they started down the stone corridor Hermione started scolding herself mentally. "I can't believe I froze like that again. How am I supposed to be useful if I can't even remember simple Herbology in a crisis?"

Suddenly she remembered what Harry had told her the night after his first quidditch match. "You can be the same clever, resourceful witch that you always are, even when the stakes are high." Harry trusted her and was depending on her. He had told her as much only a few hours ago. "I don't think we could pull it off without you."

"Okay Hermione," she said resolutely to herself. "It's time to get over your neurosis. You have the knowledge, you have the skills, now you just have to have the courage."

She rubbed her wand, remembering that it contained the core of a sphinx hair. She'd read all about sphinxes during the summer. They were extremely strong but also terribly intelligent. She had the intelligence; she just needed the strength now. She needed to be the sphinx.

A nearby rustling told them that there was something in the room up ahead. It sounded like wings. The trio entered the large chamber. Hermione looked up and saw the source of the noise they heard. The room was full of small sparkling birds hovering around near the ceiling. Across the room was another door. They debated about what would happen if they attempted to make a run for the door and finally Harry decided to risk it.

Hermione watched as he covered his head and speed towards the distant door. Nothing happened; none of the birds attacked but when he reached the door, he found that it was locked.

Ron looked at Hermione, "Well it seems safe; let's go help him out."

Hermione nodded and the two ran across the room. The birds still didn't attack.

"Let me try the door," Hermione said pulling out her wand. "Alohomora." But nothing happened. "I don't understand. That charm can unlock just about any door. This must be Flitwick's doing. Only he could charm-proof a lock."

Ron banged on the door. "Now what?"

Hermione was staring at the ceiling. "These birds; they can't be here for decoration."

Harry took a step forward, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. "They're not birds. They're keys, winged keys."

"How is it that he wears glasses and still has the best eyesight of all three of us?" Hermione wondered vaguely. She stared harder and soon saw what Harry saw. It became apparent what they had to do. There were broomsticks on the far wall. They had to catch the key, one among hundreds, that would unlock the door. They each grabbed a broomstick and soared into the air. Ron and Hermione tried their best to grab any key that looked likely to open the door. Harry however, had a different tactic. He flew through the keys, hunting, until he found the right one; a large silver key with a bent blue wing as if it had already been grabbed and shoved in the lock.

Ron and Hermione helped him corner the key by coming at it from above and bellow. Then Harry chased it into a wall.

Hermione and Ron cheered. "Well if all of the challenges are going to be this easy, we have a chance of making it." Hermione thought as they ran to the door and unlocked it with the struggling key. Harry opened the door and they stepped into the next chamber. It was completely dark and Hermione wondered if something was going to jump out and attack them since they couldn't see but as they stepped tentatively forward, light flooded the room to reveal a giant chessboard. They were standing behind 7 foot tall, stone black chessmen. On the other side of the room stood the equally sized stone white chessmen.

Hermione gulped when they realized that they had to play their way across. The three of them would have to each become one of the black wizard's chessmen and win the game to get through the door on the other side of the room.

"I hate playing this game. I certainly don't want to be in it." Hermione thought as Ron, who was the best chess player of the three, assigned her to be the queen side castle. Harry was near her as the queen side bishop. Ron was the king side knight. Their black statue counterparts retreated from the board. The chessmen didn't have faces but if she didn't know better, Hermione would have sworn the stone pieces were relieved not to be participating in the match.

"Do you think this is like regular wizard's chess," she whispered to Harry as Ron started directing their pieces to counter the white pieces.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know. I just hope Ron knows what he's doing."

"For all the grief I give him, Ron really is the best chess player in the house. He'll figure this out."

"Harry, move diagonally four squares to the right." Ron called. Harry obediently stepped forward, leaving Hermione alone in the corner.

Soon she was moving around the board as well. Then suddenly, the queen side knight was captured by the white queen and Hermione had the answer to her question. This was exactly like wizard's chess. The queen showed no mercy as it struck down the knight and dragged it off the board.

"See!" Hermione squealed. "This is why I hate this game. We're going to get killed out here."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you two, I promise," Ron assured her. "Had to let that happen. Leaves you to take that bishop, Hermione. Go on."

Hermione nodded numbly as she stepped forward to capture the bishop.

She turned to face the others and then noticed something. "Ron, the white knight is going to take Harry," she called as she watched the knight go into position.

Ron whirled around. "I'm on it."

The game move forward. As the knight, Ron captured several pieces while he made sure that Hermione and Harry were safe from danger.

"We've got to hurry," Hermione called as she looked at her watch.

"I know, I know." Ron said in frustration. "Just give me a moment."

Hermione looked around the chessboard. Something about the configuration looked strangely familiar to her. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the chessboard from a birds eye view. She mentally placed all the pieces where they were and thought hard. What was the next move? It soon became obvious. The white queen needed to be diverted. That was the only way to capture the king. She'd been in this same predicament in her last chess match with Ron months ago. It was almost the exact same layout. That meant that to win the game, Ron would have to trick the queen by…

"I've got to be taken," Ron announced.

He was the knight, the same knight Hermione moved in her match against Ron to make him move his queen, she realized in horror.

"No!" Hermione shouted when she finally put the pieces together. Not Ron! Right here and now she thought about how far their friendship had come. At first an enemy, acquantance, then they were forced to share Harry and finally he considered her a friend. Now they were best friends. Companions. Both different in everyway with different ideas, but still companions, there for Harry 'to keep him sane' as she put it.  
She couldn't do this on her own. Whatever was waiting for them beyond this chess game she couldn't do it without Ron. She was so used to him always being there, never absent. She wouldn't make it if he didn't. She couldn't survive if it were only her supporting Harry, nobody there to support her...

But Ron was being just as stubborn as Harry had been about facing Snape in his last quidditch match. It was the only way, and they all knew it. Ron took a step forward and for a split second Hermione saw him give her a knowing look. "He knows… he knows exactly what move he's doing. Knight to H-3. I guess we'll see if it actually works."

Hermione watched in horror as the queen pounced on Ron and struck him hard on the back of the head. She was sure that if he didn't have wizarding blood, the blow would have decapitated him. As it was, Ron just collapsed to the chessboard in a dead faint. Now it was Harry's turn to move and checkmate the king. The king threw his crown at Harry's feet and just that quickly the game was over.

Hermione ran up to where Harry stood. "We should go get Ron."

Harry looked at the pile of black pieces where Ron was. "We can't risk going back. We might have to do this all over again. We've got to go forward." He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the door. There was another stone passage behind it.

"What if he…" Hermione started.

"He'll be alright," Harry said determinedly though she could tell he barely believed it himself. "What do you reckon's next?" he asked shakily, hesitanty taking his eyes off of Ron.

Hermione with shaking hands,ticked off the obstacles they had faced so far. Sprout was the devil's snare. Flitwick had charmed the keys. The massive chessboard had to be McGonagall's doing. That left Quirrell and Snape.

As they reached the next door, Hermione desperately wondered what they would be facing next and if they would be able to get through it without Ron to back them up. Harry pushed open the door and Hermione immediately knew what awaited them. The smell was so horrific it could only be one thing, a troll. Hermione almost froze with fright. She didn't think she could face another troll, not after what happened the last time. She was about to tell Harry this when she noticed that the troll in question was already lying flat on its back in the middle of the floor. Snape had obviously already been through here and taken care of the troll for them.

"What a stroke of luck. Glad we didn't have to face that," Hermione thought as they walked up to it. Harry expressed the same thought as they carefully stepped past the troll. It was even bigger than the one they'd faced on Halloween. Hermione followed behind Harry to the next door, feeling extremely empty and alone without Ron beside her. Harry pulled the door open.

Hermione peeked inside and saw a table with seven differently colored and shaped bottles sitting in a line. This was obviously Snape's obstacle. As they stepped inside to get a closer look, a wall of purple flames shot up in the threshold behind them and at the same time, black flames shot up to block the doorway that would lead them forward. They were completely trapped inside the room now.

Hermione continued towards the table and found a scroll lying next to the bottles. She unrolled it and began to read.

"Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,  
Two of us will help you, which ever you would find,  
One among us seven will let you move ahead,  
Another will transport the drinker back instead,  
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,  
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.  
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,  
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:  
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide  
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;  
Second, different are those who stand at either end,  
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;  
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,  
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;  
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right  
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight."

Hermione grinned. This was going to be bloody easy. It wasn't even magic. It was pure simple logic. Now she saw why Snape had picked this as his challenge.

"A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic. They'd be stuck in here forever," she explained to Harry.

"But so will we; won't we?" Harry looked disheartened.

"Of course not," Hermione said giving him one of her trademark disapproving looks. Did he really think she couldn't handle a simple puzzle like this? If there was one thing a Granger was good at, it was logic. "Everything we need is here on this paper: seven bottles, three are poison, two are wine, one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple."

Harry still looked confused. "But how do we know which to drink."

Hermione gave him a knowing look. "Give me a minute," she said with a grin.

She stepped up to the table and began to pace, putting all thoughts of the dangers that lay ahead, and if Ron was okay, aside. "Okay Hermione, you can do this," she muttered to herself. She needed to get both of her friends out of this. This was all up to her.

Harry waited patiently behind her, not interrupting her thoughts. She continued to talk to herself to organize her thoughts as she processed the four clues.

"Okay, the third clue is the easiest. The shortest and the tallest aren't poison." She identified the two bottles. The shortest was the third from the left. The tallest was the second from the right. She marked them mentally in her mind. These two weren't poison.

Hermione looked at the parchment again. "Okay, the second from the left and the second from the right have to be identical drinks. That means they're either both poison or both wine. The second from the right is the tallest and I know it's not poison. It has to match the second from the left so that means it must be wine. Got it. The second from the left and the second from the right are wine." She marked these two mentally.

Hermione looked down at the riddle again. "Okay I know that wherever there's wine, there's a poison to the left of it. The second from the left and the second from the right are the two wines. That means the bottle on the left end of the line is poison and the third from the right is poison as well." Hermione marked these two mentally.

This meant from left to right: the first bottle was poison, the second was wine, the third couldn't be poison but she didn't know what it was, the fourth was still an unknown, the fifth was poison, the sixth was wine, and the seventh was still unknown. She was making good progress.

"Okay," she started pacing again while she reread a few lines of the riddle. "It says that to go forward, neither of the end bottles will do the trick, but it also says that they're different drinks. So if the bottle on the far left is poison, that means the bottle on the right can't be poison because they'd be the same. It can't be wine because I've found the two wines already, and it can't be the potion to let me go forward so it must be the one that lets me go back through the purple flames. Got it." Hermione mentally marked this bottle.

This meant from left to right: the first bottle was poison, the second was wine, the third and shortest was not poison, the fourth was still an unknown, the fifth was poison, the sixth was wine, and the seventh was the potion that would take them back.

"That means," Hermione concluded to herself. "That the shortest bottle is the potion that will take us forward since it can't be the last poison. The one to its right must be the last poison."

From left to right: the first bottle was poison, the second was wine, the third was the potion forward, the fourth was poison, the fifth was poison, the sixth was wine, and the seventh was the potion that would take them back.

"Got it!" Hermione finally announced loud enough for Harry to hear her. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire toward the stone." She looked quite pleased with herself until Harry stepped forward to exam the bottle.

"There's only enough there for one of us. That's hardly one swallow," he said. They stared at each other for a moment that seemed to last for an eternity. Hermione knew what he was thinking and her suspicions were confirmed when Harry asked, "Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"

Hermione pointed silently to the bottle on the far right.

"You drink that." Harry said immediately. Hermione opened her mouth to protest vehemently. She wasn't about to let Harry go ahead without her but he quickly cut her off. "No listen: get back and get Ron. Grab brooms from the flying key room; they'll get you out of the trap door and past fluffy. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore. We need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while but I'm no match for him really."

Hermione bit her lower lip. "But Harry, what if… 'you know who' is with him."

Harry gave her one of his famous half grins. "Well I was lucky once wasn't I? I might get lucky again."

Hermione stared at him in amazement. How he could be so calm at a time like this was beyond her. She felt like she was going to cry. Harry was marching both bravely and foolishly off to what very well might be his premature demise and there was nothing she could do to help him or stop him. What if she never saw him again? The thought of losing him at the hands of the dark lord was too much to bear. Before she knew what she was doing, she ran over and flung her arms around him, almost dissolving in tears.

"Harry, you're a great wizard, you know?" There was so much more she wanted to say to him, but she couldn't find the words. This could be the end for her very first real friend. Her first best friend. Someone who accepted her for the way she is even though they were nothing alike. What if this all just turned out to be a waste of time? A mistake? What if You Know Who killed Harry, stole the stone, and there was no hope at all? Then what would become of her? She would still be sent home by her parents, never to see Hogwarts again, unless of course Dumbledore decided to expell her anyway for letting Harry go along with this dangerous plan. She would probably never see Ron again. He was a wizard and she'd just be a muggle again. Ordinary and unspecial.

Who cared how smart she was? She was still in her first year, just eleven years old, and she was muggleborn. But what if there was a chance? What if Harry defeated him, the Dark Lord, once and for all?

"I'm not as good as you." Harry said as she finally let go of him, wiping her eyes.

"Me!" Hermione gave him a stunned look. "How could he possibly think that? He really doesn't know how special he is." She stared into his eyes. "Books and cleverness. There are more important things; friendship and bravery and…" she could see that even though he was resolute about going forward, he was also as scared as she was. "Ooo, Harry, be careful."

Harry nodded at her. Hermione drank her potion first. It felt like ice was running through her veins. She wished him luck before turning and walking straight through the purple fire with one last backward glance at Harry. She hoped it wouldn't be the last time she saw him.

Hermione covered her nose and went running through the chamber with the troll. Then she took off down the next stone corridor as fast as she could. The large chessboard came into view. As she stepped into the room, she noticed immediately that all the pieces were back in place as if their last game had never been played. Ron however was still lying off to one side. She panicked for a moment, wondering if she'd have to play her way to get back across but the moment she stepped up behind the white pieces, they parted out of her way. Relieved, she rushed to Ron's side and checked his pulse. He was definitely still alive.

Heart skyrocketing, Hermione pulled out her wand hoping that the spell she was thinking of would work and also wondering if she had the skill to cast it. "Ennervate."

To her relief, Ron's eyes fluttered open. "Oy, that was quite a ride, but I'd much not like to go again. You?"

Hermione hugged him, fighting herself not to cry in front of him. "I'm so glad you're alright. That was very brave and very stupid of you. You know that don't you?" She let out slight sob, which she quickly stifled.

"And I have you to thank for it. It was your move after all that won the game. I remembered it from the last time we played. Knight to H-3, distract the queen and all. Worked rather well."

"Yes I noticed, but if I thought it would almost get you killed, I'd have never done it." Hermione helped him up, making him lean on her for support. "You know what this means don't you? I would have won the game."

"It tricked the queen, but it wouldn't have tricked me. I saw right through it," Ron told her matter-of-factly.

Hermione rolled her eyes with a relieved smile. "Whatever, we've got to go."

"Where's Harry?" Ron asked finally noticing their missing companion.

"Facing off with Snape and probably 'you know who' as we speak." She felt her stomach lurch as she said this, feeling terrible all over again.

"What!" Ron said in horror. "We've got to go help him."

"No we can't," Hermione said quickly. "There's no way to go after him. We have to get out of here and try and reach Dumbledore in London, before it's too late."

"But…" Ron was still keen on going after Harry but Hermione dragged him in the opposite direction.

"Trust me, we can't do anything for Harry except try and reach Dumbledore. He's the only one who'll believe us."

They ran through the ranks of the black chessmen and out the door that led to the charmed key room.

"Grab a broom, we're going to fly out of here," Hermione ordered.

They both took broomsticks and flew through the last stone passageway and into the first chamber.

"Wait for me to play Fluffy to sleep," Hermione shouted as they sped upwards to the trap door. "Then we can go up into the corridor."

Hermione came to a hovering halt just below the trap door. She could here the growls of the giant three-headed dog just above her. She took out the flute and began to play. After only a few seconds she could hear the dog snoring. With her free hand, she motioned for Ron to go up past her. He did. Then, still playing the flute, she ascended slowly herself. Ron was already by the door, waiting for her. Hermione dismounted her broom and crept over the dog's paws, all while still playing a rather crude melody on the makeshift flute. She didn't pull the instrument from her lips until she was standing at the open door with Ron. She dropped her broom and scooped up the discarded invisibility cloak, cramming it in her robe pocket with her free hand. They rushed out and slammed the door behind them, just as fluffy started to wake up again.

"Well that was easy enough," Ron said wiping sweat from his brow. "Now what?"

"To the owlery," Hermione answered. "Harry wants us to send Hedwig to Dumbledore."

"But that could take hours," Ron said as he ran to catch up with Hermione. "Harry won't be able to last that long with 'you know who.'"

"Do you have a better option?" Hermione asked impatiently as they rounded a corner only to find the way blocked. "Drat. The staircase moved again. Come on, we'll have to take the long way 'round."

Living in a castle where the staircases moved at different times during the day had never bothered Hermione until now. They descended down another flight of stairs and made their way to the entrance hall. From there they could start up to the owlery again.

"We've got to hurry," Hermione panted, clutching a stitch in her side as she started up the main stairs in the entrance hall.

"Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger," came a voice from behind them.

Hermione whirled around to see none other than Professor Albus Dumbledore standing in the main doorway.

"Professor," Hermione panted, she barely had breath to explain but apparently no explanations were needed. The headmaster's blue eyes were wide with shock and knowledge all mingled together.

"Harry has gone after him, hasn't he?" Dumbledore said in a surprisingly calm voice.

Hermione nodded, dumbstruck. It was like he had known all along.

"I must hurry," He took off up the stairs past them. Hermione would have never guessed such an old wizard could move that fast. Hermione and Ron ran as fast as they could to keep up with him.

"I'm ashamed of myself for not seeing through this rather transparent deception." Dumbledore said as he ran. "It wasn't until I reached London that I realized that this was the very place I needed to be." He bounded up the next flight of stairs.

"We'd just found out earlier that Hagrid had let slip how to get past Fluffy." Ron said through pants. "When McGonagall told us you had left, we knew that Snape would go after the stone tonight."

"Professor Snape?" Dumbledore repeated. "I'm afraid you're mistaken on that point. It's not Snape who is after the stone."

"Huh?" Ron was definitely confused. "But, he let the troll in on Halloween."

"No," Dumbledore said stoically. "There's only one person in this school with the skills to lure a troll. I had just hoped he would come to his senses but I guess he gained more from his time away than he bargained for." They finally reached the entrance to the forbidden third floor corridor. "I want the two of you to go back to your dormitories."

"But Professor," Hermione protested. "I want to go with you. I want to make sure Harry is okay. I won't just leave him alone down there."

"No," Dumbledore said sternly as he pulled out his wand. "I can make it down quicker on my own and I don't want you two getting hurt. Please do as I say."  
They watched as he pushed his way into the forbidden corridor and the door slammed shut behind him. They suddenly heard loud classical music playing.

Ron turned to Hermione, a confused look on his face. "I don't understand; if it's not Snape who's helping 'you know who' then who is it?"

Hermione was replaying the conversation in her head. It suddenly came to her. "Quirrell… it was Quirrell all along. How could we have been so stupid?"

"Quirrell? I don't get it," Ron said still confused. They were walking slowly back to the tower, not in any particular hurry to get there.

"What's the one thing that Quirrell actually knows about when it came to Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Hermione asked rhetorically. "Trolls! But didn't you say he fainted that night on Halloween when the troll got in."

"Right, well old Quirrell would faint if he saw his own shadow; you know that."

"I don't think so," Hermione said pensively. "I think it's all just been an act. I think Quirrell's been the one behind this whole thing and we've just been too thick to realize it."

Ron shook his head. "But Snape was threatening him. He was trying to get Quirrell on his side so he could steal the stone."

"Maybe Snape wasn't threatening him so he could steal the stone, maybe he was trying to keep him from stealing the stone. Snape probably knew all along that Quirrell was a fake and was just trying to stop him by himself, just like we've been trying to do."

"But the quidditch game," Ron reminded her. "Snape tried to kill Harry, remember."

Hermione thought about this. "I don't believe it…" she started slowly. "I think I was wrong."

"Well that would be a first," Ron said sarcastically.

Hermione ignored him, "It was probably Quirrell all along who was jinxing Harry's broom and I just never saw him because I was only looking at Snape. I remember though, when I was running to stop Snape, I pushed Quirrell out of the way."

Ron was still unconvinced. "Well then what was Snape doing?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "Maybe he was performing the counter-jinx," she concluded with a shrug.

"Snape, trying to save Harry?" Ron scoffed at the thought. "Hermione you're losing it. I don't care what Dumbledore says, I know it's got to be Sna…" his voice trailed off because strolling right towards them was none other than Professor Snape.

"Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley," Snape hissed. "I thought I made it clear this afternoon that if I caught you out of bed again, you'd be expelled but you obviously think yourselves above the rules. I suppose Potter is sneaking around here too. When the headmaster hears about this…"

"Professor Dumbledore already knows we're out of bed. In fact he's probably with Harry right now." Hermione informed him matter-of-factly and with a bit of disdain in her voice.

"What?" Snape looked grave and surprised all at the same time.

"Yes, he's gone down the trap door in the third floor corridor to stop Quirrell and 'you know who' from stealing the Sorcerer's Stone. If you hurry you might be able to catch up with him." Hermione continued past the stupefied professor, dragging an equally shocked Ron with her.

"Hermione!" Ron hissed finally, when they were out of earshot of Snape. "I can't believe you just did that."

"Even if he wasn't the one trying to steal the stone or kill Harry, I still can't stand him." Hermione said scowling. "Come on; let's hurry up and get to the tower. I just remembered something."

"What?" Ron asked.

"Neville."

_A/N: Whew! Two more chapters to go! And misguidedghost19, yes I am going to do ALL SEVEN Harry Potter books in Hermione's POV :) Aught to be interesting, I know. A lot happens that the books don't go into and I find myself deeply engaged in the behind the scenes action._  
_So I know the chapter was intense, mainly because a lot of what was displayed didn't appear in the book. A lot going on for Hermione! Even after all this madness she thinks she's going to lose it all. This world and everything in it that she ever dreamed of, including best friends. So what do you think? Will she get to stay? *wink wink* _  
_Reviews make me happy and they make me update faster!_


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